Drift Brake Slides by Mustang Sandy

Drift Brake Slides by Mustang Sandy

Mustang Unleashed, the adrenaline based program at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, has created a newer version of Mustang Sally. The song is about a woman who would prefer to drive around in her new car rather than do anything else (C'est Moi). It is also a warning to a wild girl (in my case, a wild woman) to slow down. So even though Mustang Unleashed created a speed junkie (not a drug addiction, but mph related), I'm going to practice safe sex (I mean "driving") by attending a Seniors For Safe Driving course next week, for two reasons: I'll get a discount on my car insurance and I'm hoping to learn how to do drift brake slides at a slower speed and how to perfect my doughnuts!

I must admit I was apprehensive (translation: terrified) about attempting the drift brake slide maneuver. Keep in mind women my age (don't ask) don't normally trade-in their four-wheeled rollators for four cylinders and 315 horse-powered turbochargers. But thanks to my favorite sister, who would be drifting her own brakes after me, I was convinced to conquer my fears (with instructor, Matt, riding shotgun and giving step by step advice). It also helped knowing I purchased the limited liability insurance in case I damaged one of their cars!

Picture a large parking lot with two cones at one end, spaced apart a fraction of an inch wider than my (their) pretty blue Mustang and two cones at the other end leaving just as little room for passage. Warning: performing a drift brake slide is so dangerous Google won't even tell you how to do it! However, I trust you not to experiment with this technique at home, so I'll give you some basic info. First you need a large water truck (I think Davies Ford in Charleroi used to carry them) with the capacity to carry between 2,000 and 6,000 gallons of water (not your average garden hose). Big Mack, using large nozzles, then sprays like the dickens onto the asphalt making it extra slippy. 

This is where I enter the picture. My assignment was to drive at roughly 35 mph looking at the cones at the far end. We were taught to look where you want the car to go and it will go there. As soon as the front end of the car is through the cones, turn the steering wheel hard counter-clockwise and pull the emergency brake handle up as hard as your arthritic shoulder will allow. Easy right? Then it's throttle, cones, steering wheel and emergency brake on a repeat cycle. 

If you watched the above video, you probably weren't impressed. I hope you watched it to the end when I started to get the hang of drift braking and really had a blast doing it. I know you couldn't hear me squealing in delight in the video, but Matt, my instructor/passenger, sure could. 

Moral of this story: Drift braking is now one of my favorite things to do. If I had let my fear control me, I would never have had this eternal smile on my face or earned some bragging rights. Please feel free to comment on a time you took a risk and were so glad you did. 

Sandra Warholic Seeley - All my life, and half of someone else's, I have lived in a humorous place called Earth. My muse is a tiny menehune from the island of Oahu in Hawaii where I lived for a year. Ernest Hemingway once sat under the exact same coconut tree where I did most of my writing. I'm also a sensitive to criticism Virgo who loves to get paid for writing and speaking funny stuff. Even though my mind is filled with volcanic ash residue and I'm still finding sand in my shorts, I will continue to write until my muse retires or I run out of pretty blue drinks, whichever comes first. Don't be bashful, email the author.