It received mixed reviews from critics, who were divided on the game's graphics, construction system, driving gameplay and other design aspects, but has gained a degree of cult popularity.

[15] Each of the game's tracks contains power up bricks, which can be collected by the player and used to gain an advantage over other racers.

The power ups are divided into four categories: Projectile, Hazard, Shield and Turbo, with each providing a different use to the player.

[20][21] Throughout the game, the player can unlock various brick sets and character pieces by completing certain tasks, such as coming first in a Circuit Race.

[23] High Voltage Software spent over a year creating Lego Racers' car building mechanics.

The pieces available to the player were selected from hundreds of Lego elements by the developers, chosen first by aesthetics, and then analysed to see if they would fit into Luetscher's formula.

The developers chose to affect the attributes of the player's car, such as handling, acceleration and top speed, through how many bricks are placed on the chassis, as this is simpler to understand for the game's main age demographic.

Every element in the game, including bricks and character pieces, had different levels of detail created for use in menu screens and cut scenes, where the models had to be a higher quality due to the player seeing them up close.

[26] The developers planned a damage system where bricks would break apart from the car upon crashing, but this presented "too many problems to make it a real possibility"[27] and such feature later ended up in the sequel.

GameSpot's Andrew Seyoon Park stated that virtually everything in the PC version "looks bright, colorful and clean" when playing in 3D-accelerated mode, but called its texturing minimal.

[41] Trent C. Ward of IGN praised the PC version's background animations, stating that they not only "add to the atmosphere of the game, but also affect the way it plays".

Conversely, Winnie Imperio of IGN called the same console version's framerate "consistent, if not entirely smooth".

[15] However, Stahl called the game's construction system unfriendly, stating that the player is "better off just sticking with one of the default vehicles".

EGM's Dean Hager called the game's race tracks "short, unimaginative and devoid of good shortcuts.

[41] Bishop said that the sound effects "lack crispness", citing their low sample rate as a reason, as well as calling the game's music "flat".

[52] Harry Alexander, writing for CBR, wrote in an article that "The original LEGO Racers was no masterpiece even in its day.

[53] In 2021, Eric Nofsinger, executive at High Voltage, said "It's been over 20 years since we shipped it and, to this day, both Kerry Ganofsky and myself receive regular – I would say at least multiple times a week – emails from fans saying how much this game impacted their childhood.

[55] The eponymous Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 counterpart to Lego Racers 2, developed by Attention to Detail, was announced in August 2001,[56] and released in September 2001.