NASCAR fans prepping for Ford 500
Fans started arriving a week in advance for the Ford 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.
"You have to get here a week ahead of time to get caught up with all your friends," Doug Pittman of North Carolina told the Times News. "We have friends we see at Bristol every spring and summer. Some, this is the only time we'll see them. They are family to us."
Pittman is one of many who have been watching races at this track for years.
"Recently, the people have been better than the racing. I don't really like what they have done with the track since they redid it a couple of years ago. The racing is just not as good, I think," Pittman told the newspaper.
Some disagree that the racing at Bristol has suffered in recent years. Campers say it's a topic that keeps them talking around the campfire.
Whether it's the racing or the friendships, campers like Pennsylvania's Nancy Williams says they simply can't miss the races at Bristol.
"The campground becomes its own little community. We know the security guards, the people who deliver stuff. The stuff that goes on here, it is something that tells its own story. You just have to come down here to see it. The party never ends in the campground," she told the newspaper.