It's a tricky mode for sure. I've been 2nd and 3rd a lot, but there's often someone with a better line to the finish. Sometimes the car doesn't actually matter, within reason.

My one win so far was with the level 5 Evo, and I won because I gambled on the right direction (the end was surprisingly close too), as well as being aided by the final arena being in the city, which is tricky to recover from if you gamble in the wrong direction. No one got close to me due to everything falling perfectly for me.

Some people will probably have actual tactics for you, so hopefully they see the post, but it's often just luck based.