Muscle car envy, or just plain stupid ?

A couple here have talked about lighting up the tires at the light, or racing up to the speed limit and not breaking any laws. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been known to have a bit of a heavy foot from stop light to stop light, but I always thought that these situations were in fact illegal and refered to as "exhibition of speed" on the ticket. I realize this can be highly subjective to the police, but spinning tires on dry pavement is a sure fire way to get pulled over. Can any one verify this?