Car Week pop-ups and sideshows kept Monterey Peninsula law enforcement busy this year.

It was a very busy Car Week 2025 for local law enforcement, as officers found themselves dispersing large crowds from impromptu gatherings spurred by social media, issuing citations for speeding, reckless driving, equipment violations and other issues, as well as tracking down vandals and other scofflaws.

Law enforcement officials say the crowds in the streets and along roadways where exotic vehicles could be spotted were larger this year than in years past. The exotics attracted many young people with cameras, excited to catch a glimpse of some of the auto world’s most coveted models.

Pop-up meets, where large crowds gather based on news spread on social media about the locations of exotic cars, proliferated this year. The meets tend to overwhelm areas, shutting down roads and causing issues for surrounding neighborhoods.

Seaside became ground zero for nightly pop-ups around In-N-Out Burger Thursday, Aug. 14 through Saturday, Aug. 16. Crowds of mostly teens and young men out to see exotic cars took over the business and surrounding areas, engaging in rowdy behavior and destructive driving moves, according to Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges.

“It was such a disrespectful congregation to the citizens and businesses of Seaside,” he says.

The crowds were manageable on Thursday night, dispersing when requested by the police. The crowd size grew Friday and was even larger on Saturday night.

“Saturday night was the worst night,” says Borges. They called in help from other agencies and over 20 officers assisted in dispersing the crowd from In-N-Out.

“Once they know we’re serious they’ll leave,” he says.

They did leave, only to head down the street and re-form in the Home Depot parking lot, along Canyon Del Rey. Cars there were speeding around, doing burnouts and other moves that left chunks of rubber all over the parking lot, Borges says.

Police managed to get them to leave that lot but then they headed to parking lots at the Sand City shopping centers. “It turned into a zoo there,” Borges says. Officers dispersed them yet again.

In Carmel, where a few years ago rowdy crowds were causing issues in the small downtown, police have been working on methods to prevent unsafe driving behaviors. Acting Police Chief Todd Trayer made some adjustments to plans ahead of Car Week that seem to have helped keep bad behavior of drivers at bay and crowds behaving better than in previous years.

“There were a lot of pedestrians/visitors this year. Some say more than years past,” Trayer says by email. “That was manageable during the day and at night grew exponentially with the car enthusiasts.”

The department estimates that many days during Car Week had over 65,000 vehicles in town. Normally they have around 47,000.

Carmel Police tracked all of their actions related to Car Week from Saturday, Aug. 9, to Monday, Aug. 18. The report includes 137 traffic stops, 70 citations, seven arrests, 13 vehicles towed, one driving while under the influence and 320 parking citations.

In one instance, a Carmel officer pulled over a driver for possible drunk driving. He discovered a privately manufactured fire arm, often referred to as a “ghost gun.” The driver was arrested and the car towed. Carmel police also arrested a 31-year-old man from Pacific Grove who is alleged to have smashed the front windows of two McLaren autos.

Trayer says there were two separate reckless driving incidents, one involved a man racing through the streets. He was arrested and his car towed and impounded for 30 days. The second involved two men in a McLaren who were speeding. They ran from police but were captured and arrested. The car was also towed and impounded for 30 days.

“As promised, we provided maximum enforcement for those who disrespected our village,” Trayer says.

The Monterey Police Department tracked actions during the last days of Car Week, Thursday through Saturday. They report 212 traffic stops, 129 citations issued and 15 arrests. The arrests were related to outstanding warrants, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlawful possession of a concealed firearm and sexual battery, according to a press release.

MPD worked with other local agencies in the Strategic Traffic Observation and Prevention Program, or STOPP. It includes the CSU Monterey Bay Police Department and departments from Greenfield, Salinas and Marina.

The efforts resulted in the preemptive shutdown of a sideshow, an illegal demonstration of automotive stunts, on Friday, Aug. 15, as well as responding to pop-up meets in the city.

In addition to assisting with the issues in Seaside, the MPD reports addressing reckless driving and other unsafe and illegal behavior on Alvarado Street and Cannery Row.

The California Bureau of Automotive Repair had two representatives ride with MPD officers to assist with violations related to vehicle emissions.