Hahaha I know exactly what you mean. I got pulled over once for laying a drag in my '84 civic (about 140whp 1800lbs, not bad for what it was). the cop asked "what in the world do you think you're doing" and then said "if you're gonna burn the tires, at least get something that'll burn them" and let me off with a warning.
Also got pulled over for an expired tag. I told him I just got it out of the shop and showed him the receipt for $3K (was for rebuild, pistons, rods, cams, headwork, etc) and also the bill of sale for 3K (bought it with the swap already). He felt sorry for me spending 6K on what looked like a $500 POS and told me to "go get a tag tomorrow" and off I went.
sleepers ftw
