Outrun (Genesis / Mega Drive)

Another Yu Suzuki classic that gave us branching race courses, and a song called "Magical Sound Shower".  Outrun first came out in the arcades, then made its way to the Master System, and finally to the Genesis a few years later.  This is probably the game I most associate with arcade racing during this era, and you can see how it influenced a bunch of other arcade racers down the road, like the Rush series for instance.