NFS is like Mario kart as racing-lite. Most arcade racing games all you need to worry about is turn hard right or turn hard left, hit or let off gas.(something speed boost) Seldom do you worry about brakes and even then mostly use handbrakes to drift around sharp curves. In sims braking becoming a lot more important as well as the degree which you turn. The more you turn in a sim the more speed you can lose coming out of the corner.
Almost all arcade racers and some sims including GT series in the past has "rubber-band AI".(some are worst than others) This means the race is artifical close but the actual racing leave you a little empty. It's really cheap if you drive a almost flawless race until the end which you made a small error and lose the race. Then you restart the race and made 3-4 very bad mistakes then end up winning the race. I found this experience a lot more common in arcade racers than sims.
Mario Kart also punishes you for good driving and reward you for awful driving by which items/weapons you'll get. Still when playing MK with friends and family I often win races for better driving in spite of everything thrown at me. Sometimes it better to be second until close to the end.
