The name John Doe is a reference to the driver of Roadkill in Twisted Metal: Black.
When John is being chased through the mall, part of the debris that flies across his windshield after the EB Games store is blown up, is an original PlayStation 1 "Twisted Metal" game in the original longbox.
When the gunner gets catapulted off the truck in the opening chase scene, his scream is the same scream you heard when an opponent vehicle blew up in Twisted Metal 3.
The name Raven is a reference to the driver of Shadow (the hearse) from Twisted Metal: Black.
Shadow the hearse appears, but instead of being driven by Raven (who appears but is not a driver) or Mortimer (who is not referenced), it is driven by original characters Quiet and Loud.