This is a really neat concept. It works really well with the theme, and as a game, since it naturally gets harder as you complete more laps. I wonder if the health mechanic would have been easier to understand (and to know how close you are to losing) if it was just that you could take some number of crashes, rather than 100 HP and some amount of damage each crash.
I think with some tightening up of the controls and the lap detection system, you could have a solid little game on your hands :)