Its all about timing,you have to shift your speed,at the start aim for the perfect launch,on ps2 that i played most wanted in the button for shifting the speed was the button was R2 or L2 if i remember correctly,the rest you just have to dodge other cars,and stuff that would slow you down,so basically watch out for on screen indicators,shift your speed when its green,if its blue its to early and if its red its to much.