LONG POND, Pa. — It's the start of what's expected to be a very busy weekend at Pocono Raceway in Monroe County.
Before cars roar around the track, generators are being turned on, and RVs, campers, and tents are filling up the infield. Some of these race fans have quite the setup.
"We have our cooking area here, our tents, campers. We usually have our cornhole boards out, but it's easy," said Mike Burke from Dalton.
The group from Lackawanna County is taking up seven of the hundreds of campsites at the track.
Officials say this is the third year in a row infield camping has been sold out.
"The camping is neat. It really is a family environment in our infield where you've got the campers that didn't know each other but met each other at a race here and now formed a compound to make sure they get spots next to each other," said Ben May, president of Pocono Raceway.
Meeting campers from another state is exactly what Karen Vincent and her son did at the track three years ago. The family from New Hampshire now meets up with one from New York. This year is their first time camping at the track.
"We usually stay in a hotel and go back and forth every day, so we don't get to do all this. Yeah, we're pretty excited."
Campers moving in for race weekend tell Newswatch 16 they all come back for one reason: to have a good time.
"It's fun. It's close to home, hanging out with your friends, your camping family," Burke said.
"It's always fun when you come up for race weekend at any of the tracks, and it's always just entertaining to just go out and see who wins," said Zachary McCassey from New Hampshire.
There are four races this weekend. The biggest one is Sunday.
Raceway officials say the weekend offers something for everyone, not just racing. The event guide is posted here.
"We have the free carnival. We have the kid's zone. We have the bars. We have live music. We have shopping and just a ton of stuff, a lot of food trucks, a lot of cool things to do," May added.
Limited tickets for still available for Saturday and Sunday. Kids under 12 get in free.