Maybe it's just the faster, more dynamic feel of this game that makes me say that. CTR's got much tighter controls, better racetracks, weapons that you could upgrade to become even more powerful, and hell, even the AI opponents can put up a solid fight. The only gripes I have about this game is that Oxide Station wasn't a playable track in multi-player, the music left something to be desired, and that you don't get nearly enough of a reward for actually completing the game 100%.
Definitely lots of fun though, and it really hasn't aged all that badly either. CTR is a great swan song for Naughty Dog's Crash series before Crash moved on to other devs.
*Final Score: 82/100 (Silver Medal)*