I feel like the devs were given the goal to make a Crash Bandicoot racing game, heard only half of that, made a banger open-world platformer, then learned they were supposed to make a car game, and hurriedly threw underbaked racing mechanics in. there.
It's wild that this game can essentially be considered a platform game with racing elements tacked on at the last minute, even if that isn't really the case.
For not being a racing game, I really love Tag Team Racking. The parts where you're in a car are just as fun as the main platforming bits. The only thing I really don't like is the way how the tutorials don't tell you how to drift and you'd need to read the manual for that.