A burnout (also called a peel out or brake burn by some) occurs when the driver of a vehicle (such as a car, motorbike, or truck) spins the vehicle's drive wheels until a trail of white smoke is generated.
The origins of this act can be traced to drag racing, where burnouts have a practical purpose; drag racing tires perform best at a high temperature, and a burnout is the quickest way to increase the tire temperature. In drag race tracks, there is usually a slightly wet paved space, the 'burnout box', reserved for burnouts.
Burnouts have become a form of serious competition and entertainment in their own right. Considerable prize money or goods are sometimes involved, and cars may even be sponsored or purpose built specifically as a burnout car. Burnout competitions are judged on crowd response, so style and attitude are factors. These contests are particularly popular in Australia but often occur in North America as well.
Burnouts are extremely easy to achieve in a front-wheel drive car where the parking brake works on the rear wheels; all one has to do is hold the parking brake (also known as the 'emergency brake' or 'e-brake' by many) and accelerate. This is because front-wheel drives have the engine's power transferred to the front wheels only, so keeping the rear wheels in place is bound to cause the front wheels to 'grind' against the ground without moving, creating tire smoke.