The arcade version worked well because the graphics were outstanding. The home version fails to live up to its rather burly predecessor, even with the 64 bit oomph of the machine. The graphics are, in fact, the weakest for any N64 game to date, with flat, flavorless scenery. There are also some minor problems with fill-ins and some general polygonal errors, the worst of which involves the abrupt appearance of other vehicles in previously empty spaces. The cars look decent, the road looks decent, the backgrounds look decent, but the whole thing together looks like an incredibly souped up SNES game.
Control is also an issue.
Driving a car with the analog joystick on the N64 controller is neither particularly fun nor easy. You steer the car with your thumb on a little stick, again highlighting the differences between arcade and home versions. We have opposable thumbs for a reason. This is not to say that all racing games need wheels. There are a few bright spots in the game.