Which foot do you brake with?

[commasense]

@Sam_Stone

@commasense

While I was still driving on track I happened to see a video of a NASCAR driver’s pedal work and was interested to see how he used left foot braking to slow the car slightly without lifting off the throttle. (Race car drivers generally don’t have to worry much about wearing out the pads.)

Race car drivers who drive manual transmission cars learn ‘heel and toe’ braking, where you move your heel over to the brake pedal while keeping your toe on the gas. That way you can keep the revs up between shifts while braking.

I’ve tried heel and toe braking. I suck at it.

I wrote about the technique here:

For most drivers in most cars, “heel-toe” is a misnomer. I put my toes on the right side of the brake pedal and, while applying brake, roll the ball of my foot over to the left edge of throttle pedal to blip it. You quickly run it up to, say, 6000, and let go, then as the revs fall, pull out the clutch to smoothly match the speed you need. Off the brake, and power through the turn. Presto. You’re a race driver!

(You can read more about how and why to use the technique at the linked post.)

@steronz

As for left foot braking while racing, most race cars are automatics so it just makes sense.

AFAIK most racecars are not automatic in the sense that street cars are. The driver selects the gear, usually with paddles on the steering wheel. They don’t need to use the clutch for most changes (except maybe on launch), but they’re not automatic transmissions.