Is Street Racing a Crime in California? Vehicle Code 23109 Speed Contests, Exhibitions of Speed, and Sideshows
The short answer: yes. Racing another car, racing a clock, doing burnouts or donuts to show off, and blocking a street for a sideshow are all misdemeanors under Vehicle Code section 23109, and a conviction can bring jail, a court-ordered license suspension, and a 30-day vehicle impound under Vehicle Code section 23109.2. When someone is hurt, the charge becomes a wobbler under Vehicle Code section 23109.1 that can be filed as a felony. The Inland Empire's warehouse districts in Ontario, Fontana, and Rancho Cucamonga, the wide boulevards of Moreno Valley and Perris, and the empty roads around Adelanto and Victorville are regular sideshow and racing locations, and the CHP, the San Bernardino County Sheriff, and city police run coordinated enforcement that produces dozens of citations and impounds in a single night. This guide explains what the prosecutor must prove, how these cases are defended, and what happens at the Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Victorville, and Compton courthouses, drawing on the firm's criminal defense practice.
What Vehicle Code 23109 Prohibits
Four separate offenses live in one statute. Vehicle Code section 23109, subdivision (a), makes it a crime to engage in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway. Subdivision (b) prohibits aiding or abetting a speed contest. Subdivision (c) prohibits an exhibition of speed on a highway and aiding or abetting one. Subdivision (d) prohibits obstructing or placing a barricade on a highway for the purpose of facilitating a speed contest or exhibition of speed, which is the provision used against the drivers who block intersections for a sideshow.
A highway means almost any public road. Vehicle Code section 360 defines a highway as a way publicly maintained and open to the public for vehicular travel, which includes city streets, county roads, and freeways. Industrial streets in Ontario and Fontana that look deserted at 2 a.m. are still highways. Recent amendments have extended the sideshow provisions to off-street parking facilities, so the Ontario Mills lot or a Victorville shopping center parking lot may now be covered as well; confirm the current text, because this part of the statute has been amended more than once since 2021.
A speed contest is a race against something. The statute defines a speed contest as a competition in which vehicle speeds are compared, either between vehicles or against a clock or other timing device. A race along the 15 near the Cajon Pass, a quarter-mile pull on a street in Adelanto, or a timed run with a phone app all qualify. Two cars simply driving fast in the same direction is not necessarily a contest, and that distinction is often where the defense begins.
An exhibition of speed is showing off. Exhibition of speed under subdivision (c) does not require a second car. Courts have treated it as accelerating or driving in a way that displays speed or power to impress or intimidate an audience, which covers burnouts, donuts, drifting through an intersection, and a hard launch from a light in front of a crowd. The offense is about the willful display, not the number on the speedometer, so a driver can be convicted of exhibition of speed at 35 miles per hour.
What the Prosecutor Must Prove
The elements of a speed contest. To convict under subdivision (a), the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the defendant drove a motor vehicle on a highway, (2) while driving, the defendant willfully engaged in a speed contest, and (3) the speed contest involved comparing the vehicle's speed with another vehicle or against a clock or timing device. Willfully means on purpose, not by accident, and the driver's identity must be established, which is a real issue in cases built from video and plate readers rather than a traffic stop.
The elements of an exhibition of speed. Under subdivision (c), the prosecutor must prove that (1) the defendant drove on a highway and (2) willfully drove in a way that exhibited the vehicle's speed or acceleration for the purpose of showing off or impressing others. A reckless driving charge under Vehicle Code section 23103 is often filed in the alternative, and our reckless driving guide explains how the two charges differ.
Aiding and abetting is how spectators get charged. Subdivisions (b) and (c) reach people who did not drive. A passenger who filmed and encouraged a race, a friend who started the countdown, or a person who parked across an intersection to block traffic can be charged as an aider and abettor. The prosecutor must prove that the person knew of the driver's unlawful purpose and intended to encourage or facilitate it, not merely that they were present. Many cities, including some in Los Angeles County, have also passed local ordinances that make knowingly spectating at a sideshow a separate offense; confirm the ordinance for the city where the citation was issued.
Injury converts the case to a wobbler. Under Vehicle Code section 23109.1, a speed contest that proximately causes bodily injury to someone other than the driver can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, with greater exposure when the injury is serious. A death leads to vehicular manslaughter charges under Penal Code section 192, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County have filed murder charges in racing deaths where the driver had a prior warning about the danger. Those cases go through a preliminary hearing under Penal Code section 872, described in our guide to what actually happens at a preliminary hearing.
The 30-Day Impound and Other Immediate Consequences
The car is taken that night. Vehicle Code section 23109.2 allows an officer who arrests a driver for a speed contest, an exhibition of speed, or reckless driving to impound the vehicle for 30 days. The registered owner is responsible for towing and storage, which in the Inland Empire routinely runs into the thousands of dollars, and the car can be released early only in limited circumstances, such as when it was stolen or the owner did not know the driver would use it unlawfully. The statute provides a post-storage hearing, and requesting it promptly is the only way to challenge the impound.
License consequences follow a conviction. A court may order a license suspension after a speed contest conviction, and the DMV adds points that raise insurance premiums or trigger a negligent operator suspension. Legislation effective in 2025 directed the DMV to suspend the license of a driver convicted of a sideshow-related exhibition of speed, so the collateral driving consequences have grown; confirm the current suspension rules with the DMV's website before a plea. Our guide to DMV hearings after a DUI describes the administrative side of the DMV, which operates separately from the court.
Other charges come with sideshows. A sideshow case from Fontana or Moreno Valley often includes vandalism under Penal Code section 594 for tire marks and damaged pavement, resisting or delaying an officer under Penal Code section 148 when the crowd scatters, and evading under Vehicle Code section 2800.2 when a driver takes off from a patrol car. Our guides on vandalism charges, resisting arrest, and evading a police officer cover those add-on charges. Firearms or drugs found in the car during the impound inventory create separate cases.
Penalties for Street Racing and Exhibition of Speed
Speed contest is a misdemeanor with mandatory minimums. A first conviction under subdivision (a) carries a jail term that the statute sets as a range of days, a fine, and possible community service and license suspension, and the statute requires at least some custody time unless the court finds reasons to impose an alternative. A second conviction within a few years carries higher minimums and a longer suspension. Because these figures are set in the statute and amended periodically, the numbers should be confirmed in the current text of Vehicle Code section 23109 before any plea discussion.
Exhibition of speed is punished less severely. A subdivision (c) conviction is a misdemeanor without the mandatory jail minimum that applies to speed contests, which is why a plea from a speed contest to an exhibition of speed, or to a reckless driving charge under Vehicle Code section 23103, is a common negotiated outcome. The impound and the DMV points still apply.
Probation and classes. Most first-offense pleas at the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse or the Riverside Hall of Justice result in informal probation, a fine, a driving course, and a stay-away order from the location, and the court may order the driver not to drive with any passengers under 18 or to install a GPS device. Our guide to how probation works in California explains the difference between informal and formal supervision.
Defenses in Street Racing and Sideshow Cases
Identity. The CHP and the Sheriff's sideshow task forces rely on drones, helicopter video, plate readers, and social media posts to identify drivers after the crowd disperses. The person cited is often the registered owner, who may not have been driving. Where the only evidence is video of a car and a plate, the prosecutor must still prove who was behind the wheel, and our guide to what makes a criminal case weak explains how identification gaps lead to dismissals.
No contest, only speed. Speeding alone is an infraction under Vehicle Code section 22350, and driving over 100 miles per hour is an infraction under Vehicle Code section 22348, subdivision (b), not a misdemeanor. The DA must prove a comparison of speeds with another car or a clock. Two drivers who happen to accelerate from the same light, or a driver who passed a car on the 10, have not necessarily raced, and officers who did not see the start of the alleged race frequently cannot prove the agreement to compete.
No willful exhibition. A fast acceleration to merge onto the 215, a wheel spin on wet pavement, or a skid during an evasive maneuver is not a willful display for an audience. Where no one was watching and no one was meant to be impressed, the element of purpose is missing.
Mere presence at a sideshow. Spectators and passengers are regularly cited in mass enforcement sweeps in Compton, Los Angeles, Ontario, and Victorville. Presence at the scene, even filming, does not by itself prove that a person aided or abetted a speed contest. Who drove, who blocked, and who merely stood on the sidewalk are separate questions the prosecutor must answer with evidence.
Unlawful stop or search. A stop based on a hunch, a detention that lasted longer than the citation required, or a search of the car or phone without a warrant or consent can be challenged under Penal Code section 1538.5, and evidence from a cell phone search without a warrant raises the issue decided in Riley v. California (2014) 573 U.S. 373. See our guides on 1538.5 motions, car searches, and whether police can use your text messages, which matters because group chats organizing a meet are the first thing investigators ask for.
Statements. Drivers stopped at a sideshow are often asked whether they were racing, and the answer is written in the report. Questions during a traffic stop usually do not require a warning under Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436, so the best protection is not to answer. Our guide on what not to say to police applies directly.
Where These Cases Are Heard in Southern California
Inland Empire courthouses. Street racing and sideshow citations from Ontario, Upland, Chino, Fontana, and Rancho Cucamonga are generally heard at the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse or the Fontana courthouse, San Bernardino and Highland cases at the San Bernardino Justice Center, and Victorville, Adelanto, Hesperia, and Apple Valley cases at the Victorville courthouse. Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris, and Jurupa Valley cases go to the Riverside Hall of Justice, and Temecula and Murrieta cases to the Southwest Justice Center. Assignments change, so confirm the courthouse on the citation and the court's current website. Our guides on arrests at the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse and DUI cases at the Victorville courthouse describe those courts.
Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties. Sideshow cases from Compton, South Los Angeles, and the Harbor area are heard at the Compton courthouse or the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, San Fernando Valley cases at Van Nuys, and Lancaster and Palmdale cases at the Antelope Valley courthouse. Orange County cases from Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Irvine go to the Central Justice Center or the Harbor Justice Center, and Oxnard and Ventura cases to the Ventura County Hall of Justice. Our guides on Compton courthouse cases and first court dates at the Van Nuys courthouse walk through those appearances.
What the first court date looks like. The arraignment under Penal Code section 988 is where the plea is entered and the discovery under Penal Code section 1054.1 is requested, including body camera footage, dash camera footage, drone and helicopter video, and the plate reader data. For a misdemeanor, Penal Code section 977 usually lets the attorney appear without the client. Read our overview of what happens next after being charged and our guide on whether to take a plea deal.
Diversion and Record Relief
Judicial diversion is available for many of these misdemeanors. Penal Code section 1001.95 allows a judge to divert most misdemeanors, and speed contest and exhibition of speed are not on the statute's list of excluded offenses, though some judges treat racing cases as poor candidates when there was a crowd or a crash. A completed diversion ends in a dismissal, which avoids the conviction but does not undo an impound that already happened. Our misdemeanor diversion guide explains how the request is made, and our military diversion guide covers service members from Fort Irwin and Twentynine Palms who are cited in High Desert sweeps.
Expungement after a conviction. A completed probation allows a petition under Penal Code section 1203.4 on form CR-180, described in our guide to expunging a criminal record. The DMV record and the points are not affected by that petition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is street racing a felony in California?
Usually a misdemeanor. A speed contest or exhibition of speed under Vehicle Code section 23109 is a misdemeanor. It becomes a wobbler under Vehicle Code section 23109.1 when the race injures someone, and a death can be charged as vehicular manslaughter or, in some cases, murder.
Can I get my car back before 30 days?
Only in limited situations. Vehicle Code section 23109.2 authorizes a 30-day impound and provides a hearing for the registered owner. Early release is generally available when the vehicle was stolen, when the owner did not know and could not reasonably have known that the driver would use it for racing, or when the agency agrees the impound was improper.
Can I be charged just for watching a sideshow?
Possibly. Under state law, a spectator can be charged only as an aider and abettor, which requires proof that the person encouraged or facilitated the speed contest or exhibition. Some cities have passed ordinances that make knowingly attending a sideshow a separate offense, and mass citations in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire often sweep in bystanders who have strong defenses.
Will a street racing conviction suspend my license?
It can. A court may order a suspension after a speed contest conviction, the DMV assigns points, and recent legislation directed the DMV to suspend licenses for sideshow-related exhibitions of speed. Confirm the current rules on the DMV's website, because the suspension provisions have been amended recently.
Is doing a burnout in an empty parking lot illegal?
It may be. An exhibition of speed historically required a highway, but recent amendments extended the sideshow provisions of Vehicle Code section 23109 to off-street parking facilities, and private property owners can pursue trespass and vandalism complaints. The current text of the statute controls.
Do I need a lawyer for a street racing ticket?
Yes, because it is a misdemeanor, not a traffic ticket. A speed contest citation creates a criminal case with possible jail, a criminal record, a license suspension, and insurance consequences, and the outcome often turns on identity, the definition of a contest, and the admissibility of video and statements. An attorney can appear for you under Penal Code section 977, request diversion, and negotiate a reduction to an infraction or a non-racing charge.
Talk to a Southern California Street Racing Defense Attorney
Gramling Law Group defends speed contest, exhibition of speed, sideshow, and reckless driving cases at the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse, the Fontana courthouse, the San Bernardino Justice Center, the Victorville courthouse, the Riverside Hall of Justice, the Southwest Justice Center, the Compton courthouse, and the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, and throughout the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Southern California. Daniel Gramling, Esq. offers flat-fee criminal defense and limited-scope options so you know the cost before the first court date. Call (909) 654-4575 or contact us through this website for a consultation.
This article is educational and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It addresses California law only.
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