Be smooth!
Trust me, the fastest away around the track is being smooth. Learn to be precise and always make the corner. Starting off slow will teach you this since the fastest way around the track is the shortest.
Driving around the track is not a drag race, slam the breaks, yank the wheel and repeat the drag race again. So be smooth in every thing.
This may just be me, but learn not to drive with breaks. If I have a stock motor, most likely the car can go around most corners just be lowering my throttle or coasting neutral. If it is mod, most likely the drag effect of the motor and the higher gear ratio will be enough breaks to slow the car down to make the corner.
Yes I do blip the breaks when I know the car is not going to make the turn. I would rather loose momentum for a little bit than overshoot the corner and add 20 feet that I did not intend to drive. Overshooting a corner can also mean being out of the grove and that could be dangerous. Outside the groove there is little traction and alot of debris that can foul a bearing, cut a tire, damage a pinion or spur gear.