For similar series, I recommend Burnout and Flatout. See my comment in this thread for elaboration.
Career wise I think Burnout : Paradise City is the most fun of the games I mentioned because you have to go around the city finding hidden jumps, hunting cars roaming the city (when you catch them (by crashing them, of course) you get to drive them), and beating time trials that create unique opportunities to fly through the air and blast through traffic, ideally crashing your opponents into them… anyway, I love the genre, hope you find your game!