HCSO said deputies seized five cars early Wednesday morning. They say four of them were stopped near NRG Stadium and another in a different location.
The sheriff's office said deputies just happened to drive up on them while they were racing. HCSO Sgt. John Carroll said they were going 90 to 100 miles per hour, possibly even faster.
"Harris County Traffic Crimes Unit observed several vehicles racing on the highway, on the 610 Loop. We initiated stops, arrested all of the drivers, they are all in custody, and their vehicles are now going through the asset forfeiture process," Carroll said.
Prosecutors in Montgomery County said they have been seeing an uptick in the last year and a half in illegal street racing across the state.
"The reality is just that when our roads become race tracks, no one is safe, and no one wants that," Chief Prosecutor of the Vehicular Crimes Unit at Montgomery County DA's office, Taylor Vanegas, said.
Vanegas said in 2025, there were 51 cases filed involving races. In the first four months of 2026, they've already seen 31.
In Harris County, data from the DA's office shows that in the first four months of 2025, there were 95 charges filed for racing on the highway. The same data shows that this year so far, numbers have nearly doubled at 174 cases filed.
"Primarily, what we see is that it's driven by social media. People seeing the clicks they can get," Vanegas said. "The attention they can drive to their pages when they get out and record their activity."
Numbers are likely also rising because of an increase in enforcement, according to Vanegas.
A 2023 Texas law allows for law enforcement to immediately impound and, in some cases, permanently seize vehicles involved in illegal street racing.
"If they were racing and their car gets impounded, they're not going to bond out and immediately get on the road; their car is on lock up as well. Pay the money to get it out, and when they do, it may be a long time down the road. We'll never know who is choosing not to race because of this, but we do know they won't keep racing as long as we have their car," Vanegas said.
Vanegas said if you're found guilty of illegal street racing, you could face several months in jail if it's your first offense, or several years if you're a repeat offender or a tragedy unfolds during one of these races.