Even though friction has been studied for centuries, its underlying nature has remained a mystery. One of the main difficulties to study friction is the challenge of direct observations. Friction occurs at the interface between solids and is thus hidden behind the bulk material. Modeling friction with numerical simulations is a promising approach to learn about underlying interface mechanisms. In this talk, I will present a cohesive modeling technique for frictional sliding that is originally known from fracture simulations. I apply this approach to study highly dynamic aspects of frictional failure and show how numerical studies provide new insights to the underlying mechanics. I provide quantitative comparison to experimental observations.