Game stuck when given first car

I'm not able to get past the initial car screen. The game doesn't freeze outright or crash, but the only thing I can do is move the camera. Anyone else seeing anything like this? Any ideas?

I've tried several of the compatibility mode options (including running under XP SP2, XP SP3, and Vista compatibility). I always get the same thing.

If I try party mode, I can actually finish a single round, but after that, it gets stuck again at an all-white screen that follows the race. Again, it doesn't seem like a hang or crash (for one, the music keeps playing and I can move the mouse), but otherwise, the game doesn't respond at all.

Specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit / Intel Core i7 / 4GB RAM
Nvidia GTS 250, driver version 197.45