Racing games are my favorite genre. I'll list my favorite racing games that I played the most:
Gran Turismo 1, 2 & 3 - I played these games to death. The driving realism is perfect. There's something awesome about earning 1000 credits per race (a la Hal) and building your way up to the top. On GT1, I had 1200 days (1200 races for you GT newbs). GT2 I had around 600. GT3 I'm around 67.8% complete with the game, had it since the launch day. Long fucking game. Some of the later races get unbearably hard. I love the perfect sound effects. And of course the graphics
I can tear up some Gran Turismo.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - The classic for PS1. I seriously think I had the world record for one of the tracks on that game. I found a website where they had a tournament in Europe for the game, and they had the records put up. On my favorite track, I had the #1 Tournament Winner's laptime beat by .5 seconds....
I played that game SO fucking much. I'm just thinking about how much. And it's incredible. Power sliding like a bitch. One of the best racing games ever made. PERFECT controls, BLAZING graphics (40-50 FPS for a PS1 game was phenomenal), and awesome replay value made this one an instant classic.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 - I beat the "Tournament Cup" mode or whatever (where there is no cops, just racing). Took forever. When you finally get the McLaren F1 at the end, all hell breaks loose. Awesome fun. Didn't get into the Hot Pursuit mode really, even though hitting the Nitrous button in a Caprice Classic was incredibly funny. Almost as good as the original
Need for Speed 2 - I probably played this game more than any other racing game ever. I seriously think I have around 1000+ hours on that file (if you could measure it....judging by my brother's EverQuest account and how much he played it). The graphics were good for its time, and the controls were psycho-twitchy. Meaning you could pull off some crazy moves. The physics engine for crashing was perfect too.
Need for Speed: Underground - I beat it. Took about two weeks of playing everyday, but I finally beat it. Everyone was saying how the game "wasn't as hard as I was describing it." I was thinking, how in the HELL is this game not hard to you guys? Doesn't the AI ram you into the wall on the last lap of a tournament? Doesn't the computer place a U-Haul truck right in front of you on the last curve on the last lap of a 20 minute race?
Found out they were playing it on Easy, I did 75% of the game on Hard. When I got towards the end (and started getting fed up with the game) I started playing it on Medium. Good game though. Good controls.
Mario Kart (all of 'em) - I hate these games. Why? Because a 5 year old can pick it up after you've been playing it for months and beat you because of luck. I hate it. I hate these games with a passion. Not to mention, it can cause some serious feudal rivalries between friends. "You're ganging up on me in Battle mode!" I don't know why girls always say this. I kill EVERYONE in Battle mode. I don't gang up on people. These games just bring out the immaturity of everyone. Except for me, I just win.
Jet Moto - I managed to beat this game as well. AWESOME game. I doubt if anyone even remembers it, but you rode on jet-propelled hover bikes basically. The controls were perfect in this game also, and the soundtrack kicked ass. Tons of atmosphere and style.