This game friggin' sucks, and is not a racing game. It doesn't reward good driving and doesn't punish mistakes. It just uses rubberband AI to keep things close and artificially exciting.
Each race comes down to basically staying within the pack, trying your best not to crash near the end, and using slip streams and boosts to win in the last few moments.
One of my last races about midway through I crashed dead on into a walll, spun around facing the other direction, had trouble getting up and going again after getting caught within some cars, and yet in about five seconds I was right back within the thick of things.
A really poor game. What a waste, because the rest is so good... The environment, the soundtrack, the vehicle customization...