A large-scale bust of 26 drivers on suspicion of illegal street racing last weekend does not reflect the broader community, Colorado Springs car enthusiasts said Saturday.

While no one was harmed in the bust, other illegal gatherings, often held late at night, have led to violence and injuries in the past.

One woman almost lost her life after attending a late-night car meet in November. She believes two cars from the gathering followed her and shot at her car. One bullet pierced her chest, narrowly missing her heart.

“They’re dangerous,” Jim Kawasniewski said of the gatherings while sitting next to his purple modified 1967 Plymouth Barracuda. “There’s been people who’ve been ran over at those.”

Called sideshow events or street takeovers, the illegal gatherings involve dangerous driving stunts such as drag racing, drifting and doughnuts. The activities have begun to attract more dangerous crowds, according to car enthusiasts like Kawasniewski.

Kawasniewski, 79, said the groups, mostly younger people, have left a “black mark” on a community that is otherwise laid back, peaceful and supportive of each other.

He and dozens of other car enthusiasts gathered outside Sierra High School Saturday to showcase their aesthetically pleasing cars, which often take years and thousands of dollars to modify, for a friendly competition. Unlike the street racing crowd, the community has people from all walks of life who share a love for cars and people, Kawasniewski said.

“They don’t realize the impacts because they’re young. I understand. They like speed. I like speed, too,” said Jerry Munoz, another car lover at the event. “But things like that brings it down for a lot of the car scenes because people think we’re all doing that.”

Another side effect, he said, is that the roads where these street takeovers occur get torn up fast.

Munoz and his wife, Alex, started their car club, Relentless familia, to cruise with their family and friends.

Wayne “Weezy” Bailon, 39, who belongs to one of the largest car clubs in the city, Xquizite, said more car shows are popping up across Colorado Springs. He said sometimes hundreds of cars show up to these events.

The lowrider community especially, he said, has exploded in growth.

“This community here, specifically the lowrider community, is a close community. Everybody is tight here. Nobody has beef with each other. It’s not the things that you would think, like gangster stuff. It’s about family. It’s about culture. It’s about having good times,” Bailon said.

Many cars at Saturday’s show integrated the driver’s culture into the vehicle’s design in some way.

That’s the art of it, according to Bailon.

Unlike the street racers, who prioritize speed over looks, Bailon said their cars are pieces of art that cruise down the road and showcase part of the driver’s identity.

Moni Hernandez of Cinco De Mayo Colorado, the organizers of Saturday’s event, said the whole point of the car show was to bring the Hispanic and Latino communities together.

“We want to celebrate our culture, our heritage and our art,” she said.