Hi guys.
I've complained about this problem a lot and asked for possible fixes, always unsuccessfully. Considering all the time I spent asking other people, who would've thought *I*'d be the one to suggest the first fix?
The problem seems to be fairly common among mtm2ers using operating systems such as Windows XP. Basically, the game takes almost half a minute to switch between rendering modes or levels or something. (I'd say levels...?) It hangs for thirty seconds on the blank screen between clicking Go and the race actually starting to load, on the black-and-white truck picture when exiting a race or replay, etc.
And now... the fix. (Hopefully this will work for you!)
Right-click Monster.exe or the shortcut on your desktop and go to Properties. In the compatibility tab, set compatibility mode to Windows 95/98 - the platform that the game was intended for. Now check "Run in 256 colors" (the color mode the game is intended to run in). Leave the other check boxes blank, save for "Run in compatibility mode for...". Now try the game. If it still doesn't work, try doing this on a fresh installation of mtm2.
I found this fix a few weeks after my reformat. I'd been away from mtm2 for a while but decided to reinstall it, and thought that maybe a few settings changes before my first race might fix the annoying problem that turned me away from the game in the first place. It worked. Hope it can help one of you!