My opinion of races;
DRAGS; A bit of cheating, cos each crash you have helps you to know when you should change lanes, nos it, slow down, etc
SPEEDTRAP; Nos for higher speed BEFORE the photo, and try to coming in first or a VERY close second.
TOLLBOOTH; Aim to get a PERFECT START off the lie, and try not to hit anything, or do anything that will cause you to slow down unncessarily.
I don't know if this would count, but my easiest race was against RAZOR. Honestly, it was a joke. In one race, I lapped him- might have had something to do with the fact I forced him into the back of a truck. But in all races, I got some really good time and distance on him. If that was a real blacklist, he would even be on it, unless it was the top 2000