SInce no one seems to remember a story, here's one from my rookie cop days.
Central Ave.in Phoenix used to be big cruising spot--- North of McDowell Rd., the street machines cruised, South of there,you had the lowriders. One night I'm sitting near the intersection & the usual array of cars are driving past until there's a large gap in the traffic. I hear two motors revving so I look up the street & see two cars at a stoplight getting ready to go at it. The Pontiac easily jumps his opponent & wins but gets caught at the light I'm sitting at. When the light turns green for him I pull him over. The driver immediately jumps out of the car & starts shouting about how he had no brakes & couldn't control the car. I walk over, step on the brake pedal & naturally, it's just fine. I explain to him what I saw & heard & issued the appropriate citations. Another officer sitting South of my location was able to catch the other car so both received the same citations.
Now in all honesty I wouldn't have had too much of a problem with their antics but to run a race on a crowded Froday night in central Phoenixwas pushing the enverlope just a little too far. This is where tht cop discretion "thing" comes in & even the drivers didn't gripe too much about the tickets........