In real world, whenever we are on the road, rules are everywhere, dangers and risk there are when you speed.
Inside the game world, there's no limitation to how much you speed, no speedy fine and your life won't be at stake for grief danger. You can speed with freedom to every place in the large map. Everyone loves that kind of freedom - The no consequences after and 0% responsibility over anything, in fact you get rewarded for certain achievement in-games with skills obtained and new maps unlocked, new journey and missions to be discovered. You are acknowledged in the game, you are praised, you are rewarded ,That's one of the main reasons that gaming is popular. Showing off about their dream cars where you can't buy in real world, shoulder off the fines is probably that's why guys love racing games so much.
I may much related to guys mindset, except guys love racing game, is seemed boring to me for now, probably I do not own any personal vehicle myself, or have a wife or kids to care, while I do love bikes and like to take longer time by just gazing at them.
I am much loved to have things more than just racing for kill time - is to be me, a life in another world. It's like having a new, wild personality of another self for containment. I much prefer games like Witcher and Cyberpunk. They have horses, cars and bikes in the game as part of life and as transport, it's not mainly about racing, it would be just too bored for me.
The reason I like about these two games is they both gave me the stimulation I wanted. Storyline and consequences, mastering skillsets like hunting, farming, upgrades, crafting as hobby, killing tech as hobby, and most importantly - sex drive.