MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — After saying last year was the final year, the annual Mustang Week is back on the Grand Strand — but with new owners.

Power Automedia has five owners who bought the event from the previous owner in September 2022. The event has taken place since 2002.

It’s grown from a two-day event to a weeklong event filled with activities. The staff and volunteers started setting up at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Tents, flags, t-shirts and multiple mustangs have already been lined up in the parking lot. Some people said they plan their vacation every year around Mustang Week.

One of the new co-owners, Lloyd Hunt, said the change in ownership was due to the challenges of Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.

“It would be a darn shame if it went away. So, we reached out to Rodney and we started talking with him and said ‘we think this would be a good thing for Mustang Week’ as well as we want to make sure we continue the legacy of Mustang Week itself,” Hunt said. “Because there’s thousands and thousands of people who come to the Myrtle Beach area for the past 21 years.”

Hunt said the car show registration is already sold out for this weekend, but is still open to bystanders.

Chad Finchum, a NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series Driver, partnered with Mustang Week for this year.

“It’s a week long and there’s so many good events,” Finchum said. “Obviously, you got the burnout competition, those were always really cool and fun, you get to see a lot of action there. Then you have the drag day down at Darlington [Raceway], you get to see a lot of fun stuff there. You know, you go to the show towards the end of the week, you get to see all the show cars and everything with the hoods popped and you get to meet all the owners of the cars, so I can’t really pick any one thing. I just like it all.”

Hunt said he’s expecting thousands to come out this week, but he does have some concerns.

“We just want to make sure people are well-educated. That they’re being safe, that they’re not making bad decisions,” Hunt said. “But I also get that sometimes in the moment we make bad decisions, but we can’t control everybody, but I’d be good if everybody is aware that there’s a lot going on here. We want you to have fun, but we don’t want you to have fun at the expense of other people.”

During last year’s event, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune posted on Facebook about the increased noise from the Mustangs and said police would be out in full force making sure laws are followed within the city.

Monday’s event started at 4 p.m. and will go until 8 p.m.