The best racing game is definately Gran Turismo 3, or at least Sega GT 2002, or maybe even Project Gotham Racing.
Nintendo isn't even close to being the founder of video games. NOT EVEN CLOSE! And actually, neither was Atari, although it was the first to popularize home gaming consoles. The first home console was actually the Magnavox Odyssey, which came out in 1972. That wasn't the start of video games either, just the start of home video games.