Shortcut Race

Shortcut Race ties its shortcuts directly to a resource you have to collect first, bricks gathered along the main track are what let you build a bridge to cut ahead, which means grabbing every brick you pass matters just as much as the racing itself.

Because a shortcut only exists if you've banked enough bricks to build it, sacrificing a small amount of speed early to collect bricks along a safer line tends to pay off more than racing flat-out and missing the chance to cut ahead later. Timing exactly when to break off for a shortcut, rather than building one the instant enough bricks are available, matters too, since a badly-timed bridge can put you right back in traffic instead of clear ahead. Kart Race 3D covers a similar upgrade-and-power-up-driven racing format across its own set of tracks.