l went to pass a car and since it has been raining, l kept the pedal down in hope of catching traction but l started to smell something. l know it was not the smell of the tires but how does it take the power away without lowering the RPMs?

it uses the brakes and the antilock braking system. you were smelling the brakes cooking. the wheel sensors tell the computer how fast each wheel is going and compensates for slippage by appling the brake to the wheel that is going faster

It is controlled by a combination of automatically applying the brakes on the drive wheels individually (on the tire that is spinning), and defueling the motor to have less output power.

it brakes individual wheels and pulls ignition timing.

next time if the traction control light comes on that is a signal to LIFT off the throttle not floor it. you are not going to magically get the tires to grip the road by hitting the gas.

also, please do not drive with the traction control deactivated. it sounds like you need those electronics to keep yourself from being a hazard to others on the road