Teens could drink a few beers, race souped-up cars on deserted, dead-end rural roads and eventually they would be shooed home around 2 a.m. by tolerant police officers.

'It's becoming a big metro problem,' said Brown, who is assigned to the State Patrol's Adams County post. 'We've seen numerous accidents that have resulted in serious injuries and even death because of street racing.'

New criminal elements that now go hand-in-hand with street racing have led police to tighten enforcement, authorities say.

Today, street racers steal cars instead of juicing up their own. Drive-by shootings, fights between losers and winners, and weapon seizures are common.

Gang members who sell drugs persuade street-racing teens to be their dealers. Westminster police suspect that older men attending races were child molesters casing the crowd for their next young, female victims.

'The core group of street racers are just there for a social event, but there is an underbelly of elements that are attracted to the activity that make it dangerous because they prey on young kids,' said officer Troy Cooper, Westminster police spokesman.

Street racers have mostly left their rural roots behind, and now clog roadways and rev up their noisy engines to the distress of residents in metro areas, authorities say.

Police do not keep statistics specifically on street racing, but from July 2001 through June 2002 the State Patrol issued 140 tickets for exhibition of speed or engaging in a speed contest.

Communities such as Denver and Adams County have joined multi-jurisdictional sting operations in the last few months to ferret out street-race locales and make arrests.

A sting in Denver six months ago, near West 48th Avenue and Pecos Street, resulted in citations to about 30 people ranging in age from 15 to their early 30s.

Teens were caught racing their parents' minivans as well as more well-known and speedier vehicles.

Car enthusiasts who take part in legal drag racing at tracks such as Bandimere Speedway in Morrison say people often confuse street racing with drag racing.

Drag racing has been a legal way for car enthusiasts to indulge in their need for speed and competition since 1951, when the National Hot Rod Association made it a championship sport.

Mark Beatty, a longtime drag racer and president of Fine Line Graphics in Denver, which decals race cars from all over the country, says there are safe, organized and approved places such as Bandimere where teens are encouraged to speed in races designed for them.

Drag racers are motivated by a mind-set that values the competitive spirit and bettering their cars' performance, expressing their ingenuity, taste and workmanship through their cars, and spending weekends with their friends and families, Beatty said.

'But I truly think street racing is about spot peer pressure among irresponsible youth,' said Beatty, 41. 'Words start flying. 'My car can beat your car.' Next thing you know, cars are ripping and boarding down the streets with drivers that don't understand how dangerous speed can be.'

Jesse Nolen of Grand Junction was 19 three years ago when he was drinking beer with friends and street racing.

'I lost control of my car and hit a good buddy of mine. He died,' Nolen recalled Tuesday.

His friend was watching from the sidelines.

'We were all into cars, and it was something to do. It was an adrenalin rush. I was probably up to 80 mph before I started sliding,' he said.

Nolen was charged with vehicular homicide and sentenced to four years in prison and three years of parole.

'There aren't any second chances. You have to think what could happen to yourselves, your families and other people watching a drag race,' he said.

Nolen, now 22, tells that to high school students in person and TV viewers during a 60-second commercial sponsored by the Mesa County Sheriff's Office and the Fruita Police Department.

"When Nolen talks, you can see that kids are absorbed in what he is saying," said Mesa County Sheriff Reicke Claussen.