You dont need a wheel to play this, i got plenty of friends who play teh heck out of this with the controller.. Its just that if you really enjoy racing games/simulations, than get a wheel, Start out with a used wheel, I used logitech driving force as my first wheel back in 2005, than bought a used driving force pro from a friend for $50 bucks in 2007, and than bought a used G25 for $140 in 2008. Start out with a used steering wheel to see if you like going that route. I like playing race sims on the computer, and for the price logitechs work great.
That is a good deal compared to when i first bought the game than some of the DLC for it. The online play is always a blast, never gets borring. Always fun to look for an oddball car and tune it to beat people online with who drive the typical popular cars.