I played the 2006 game back in the PS2 days but never this one its more like an expansion game than an actual full new game:

Pros:
+ driving physics are alright and a bit improved
+ alright story plays after the events of the 2006 game
+ tracks are fun to drive
+ even there are a lot of soundtracks only 6 they all are nice (fun fact alll the soundtracks are actual licensed music, kinda a wonder the game is still up for sale because of it)
+ a few game modes nothing special but nice like Race, Tank, Teamplay, monster truck waaypoint race and mini games like Tractor Tripping
+ open world is still there, smaller than the 2006 game but serviceable

Cons:
- the only unfun part i had with the game was the last Hook race it was pretty unfair on "Champion difficulty" bots are way to fast in the corners and also accelerate a bit to fast
- such a shame i dont find anything how to set up the draw distance way higher it looks aweful here way to low
- no widescreen resolution, without any fix you stuck at 720p
- the game changes your destop at startup because of an old 720p loading screen, its annyoing to always set the TV/Monitor back to normal
- its kinda the ps2 port with lower lighting, draw distance and textures (sadly there is no PS3 or xbox 360 mod that restore the better textures, lighting and draw distance)

For fans of the series or someone just like the first movie its worrth a playthought

Cars Mater National Championship is awesome. It runs perfect on my windows 11 laptop with best graphics no lag. I highly recommend this game on pc and Xbox 360.