Slipstreaming is a common used tool in many types of races. In the Olympics which are going on now, slipstreaming is a very common thing. In order to slipstream you must be directly behind something moving in front of you. In ice racing in the Olympics many skaters align themselves behind another racer in order to reduce the air restriction pushing against them. In car racing, slipstreaming is one of the most important tools because many of the cars are the same speed and shape which gives them all the same attributes. How could you pass someone if they are faster than you? Well the answer is to get behind them and reduce the air holding you back and make the person in front of you block it for you. Slipstreaming is kind of like a human shield without the death part. The shield is the car I front of you and the thing coming at you is air. Slipstreaming works better in racing than it does on foot or bike. When you slipstream the air hitting the car in front of you flows over it and then flows over you so the air doesn't hit you as hard and you become faster than the other car until you stop slipstreaming so you can pull in front of them. Slipstreaming is now a very common tool in today's video games also. For example, in the game "Grand Theft Auto Five" slipstreaming is the only way to pass people in many situations. If one player is racing with a Bugatti and another player is behind them because they started late, the only way to pass them is if you get behind them and slipstream them. To add fun to it when you get to their car you can spin them out :D.
This is a screenshot from Gta 5 and this cat is aligned behind the other car (which looks like he is spinning out but he isn't actually) in order to slipstreaming and because I play the game I know those two cars are the same speed and if the black car wanted to pass the silver car he would have to slipstream him and probably spin him out so he couldn't catch back up.
This screenshot is a Bugatti (to the left of the orange car) and the orange car is slower than the Bugatti so you can tell he slipstreamed him because there is no way that car would have been able to catch up to him (I forgot what the orange car was called)
