BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) – Race weekend is just around the corner, and the fans are already setting up their campers in preparation for the action.

In the week before the Food City 500, the fans begin filing into Bristol. For some, arriving early is a yearly tradition.

“That’s been the tradition,” Tammy Nelson said. “Our crew is always here early with us.”

Nelson and her husband, Jeff, are from Franklin, North Carolina. For years, the Nelsons have been joined by their friends, some local and some traveling from across the nation. Part of their crew is Tiffany Smith, who has known Jeff for most of her life. She is a Bristol native but said she enjoys the camping environment.

“We just live a couple of miles up the road,” Smith said about her and her children. “But we still come down here and camp. It’s just the crowd, the people. We love the people.”

Church Hill resident Keith Ball and his wife have come to Bristol every year for almost 20 years. But Ball said they don’t come for the race.

“We come up here to eat, and then we have friends and people come up,” Ball said. “And we just have a good time.”

Ashley Earhart Thronberry with Earhart Campgrounds said Ball’s thoughts aren’t uncommon.

“We have a lot of locals who come and just like to spend the week together,” Thornberry said. “They’re all friends. It’s like one big family reunion at race time.”

For Nelson, it’s all about the community.

“I really like going to the truck race,” Nelson said. “But hanging out with our friends, being able to spend that special time with them every year, that’s really cool.