Hey TammerTheHammer, always a great experience to see other peoples visions in these things. I think during the stream Zackavelli mentioned the problem being there was not "cost to entry" with the roads, it just feels too open. That said, I can see where something like this could go.
Different types of cars, exclusive seating modifiers, even different road types could be cool.
I would say don't be afraid to experiment with the art if you wanted to take it further. I actually really like the spectators as they are, but adding little bouncing and moving around effects could add a lot. Maybe going with this super simplistic visual approach is the start of style?