diff --git a/Core/Inc/vehicle_state.h b/Core/Inc/vehicle_state.h
index 4b79b46..b2f3ace 100644
--- a/Core/Inc/vehicle_state.h
+++ b/Core/Inc/vehicle_state.h
@@ -183,6 +183,8 @@ typedef struct {
   ConePosition cone_pos[NUM_CONES];
 
   ParamType last_param_confirmed;
+
+  uint8_t drs_led_active;
 } VehicleState;
 
 extern VehicleState vehicle_state;
diff --git a/Core/Src/leds.c b/Core/Src/leds.c
index 8301fc7..913a364 100644
--- a/Core/Src/leds.c
+++ b/Core/Src/leds.c
@@ -88,7 +88,10 @@ void led_thread_entry(ULONG child_thread_stack_addr) {
     float speed =
         (vehicle_state.speed - LED_SPEED_MIN) / (LED_SPEED_MAX - LED_SPEED_MIN);
     float num_leds_exact = speed * N_LEDS;
-    num_leds_exact = fmin(N_LEDS, fmax(0, num_leds_exact));
+    // clamp num_leds_exact to maximum of N_LEDS and exclude first LED if DRS is
+    // active (vehicle_state.drs_led_active = 1)
+    num_leds_exact =
+        fmin(N_LEDS, fmax(vehicle_state.drs_led_active, num_leds_exact));
     int num_leds = num_leds_exact;
     float num_leds_frac = num_leds_exact - num_leds;
 
@@ -98,12 +101,13 @@ void led_thread_entry(ULONG child_thread_stack_addr) {
     uint8_t r, g, b;
     led_hsv_to_rgb(hue, 1.0f, 1.0f, &r, &g, &b);
 
-    // Fully illuminate first n LEDs
-    for (int i = 0; i < num_leds; i++) {
+    // Fully illuminate first n LEDs (start at second LED if DRS is active)
+    for (int i = vehicle_state.drs_led_active; i < num_leds; i++) {
       led_set(i, r, g, b);
     }
-    // Partially illuminate n+1th LED
-    if (num_leds < N_LEDS) {
+    // Partially illuminate n+1th LED if DRS LED is not active or n+1th led is
+    // not DRS LED
+    if (num_leds < N_LEDS && (!vehicle_state.drs_led_active || num_leds > 0)) {
       led_hsv_to_rgb(hue, 1.0f, num_leds_frac, &r, &g, &b);
       led_set(num_leds, r, g, b);
     }
@@ -111,6 +115,11 @@ void led_thread_entry(ULONG child_thread_stack_addr) {
     for (int i = num_leds + 1; i < N_LEDS; i++) {
       led_set(i, 0, 0, 0);
     }
+
+    // set DRS LED (LED 0)
+    if (vehicle_state.drs_led_active) {
+      led_set(0, 0, 0, 255);
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -310,9 +319,9 @@ void HAL_SPI_TxCpltCallback(SPI_HandleTypeDef *handle) {
     asm("nop" ::: "memory");
   }
   HAL_GPIO_WritePin(LED_LE_GPIO_Port, LED_LE_Pin, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
-    asm("nop" ::: "memory");
-  }
+  // for (size_t i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+  //   asm("nop" ::: "memory");
+  // }
   HAL_SPI_Transmit_DMA(hspi, (const uint8_t *)&led_buf[led_buf_idx], 3);
 }
 
diff --git a/Core/Src/ui.c b/Core/Src/ui.c
index 4118a3e..181ddd6 100644
--- a/Core/Src/ui.c
+++ b/Core/Src/ui.c
@@ -9,11 +9,10 @@
 #include "stm32h7xx_hal_gpio.h"
 #include "tx_api.h"
 #include "vehicle.h"
-
-#include "leds.h"
+#include "vehicle_state.h"
 
 #define DRS_BUTTON_IDX (6)
-#define DRS_PRESS_WAIT_CYCLES (1000)
+#define DRS_PRESS_WAIT_CYCLES (10)
 static int drs_press_buf_cycles = 0;
 
 void ui_thread_entry(ULONG _) {
@@ -50,13 +49,15 @@ void ui_thread_entry(ULONG _) {
       tx_event_flags_set(&gui_update_events, GUI_UPDATE_NEXT_SCREEN, TX_OR);
     }
 
+    // check for DRS button
     if (button_states[DRS_BUTTON_IDX] == GPIO_PIN_SET) {
       // Set leftmost led to blue to indicate DRS activation
       drs_press_buf_cycles = DRS_PRESS_WAIT_CYCLES;
-      led_set(0, 0, 0, 255);
-    } if (drs_press_buf_cycles < 0) {
+      vehicle_state.drs_led_active = 1;
+    }
+    if (drs_press_buf_cycles < 0) {
       // Assume no longer active, turn off
-      led_set(0, 0, 0, 0);
+      vehicle_state.drs_led_active = 0;
     } else if (drs_press_buf_cycles >= 0) {
       drs_press_buf_cycles--;
     }