You can already smell the fumes. The heat's rising off the track. Over at Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road, Ernie's Tin Bar is setting up the folding chairs in the adjoining garage and lining up the PBR in the bottle (fyi: the "$1.75 Cold Beer" is Hamm's in the can).

And hundreds of RVs are descending upon 50 Acres Campground across from Infineon Raceway, gearing up for the infamous "NASCAR Nights" blowout tonight and Saturday.

One dude, who returns year after year, told me "It's the closest thing to Mardi Gras - out here in a sheep field in California. It don't get no better than that."

He was talking about the makeshift bar they set up every year on the eastern edge of the campground.

But, on Thursday, when I showed up with PD photographer Kent Porter, they were all up in arms. It turns out the SoCo Sheriff's department told them they had to shut down the bar, break down the tables and they couldn't erect the massive flagpole, the icon of the campground that's emblazoned on all the T-shirts.

Loyal barflies had already drawn up posters that read, "Infinion (sic) Raceway - No Fun"

First of all, "It's not a bar," they said. "Just a gathering spot."

And the cold beers in hand? "They're not for sale. Never have been, never will be."

When we left, they were still awaiting a visit from the Sheriff's department. But I have a feeling, if you were to show up around 10 tonight, the bar would be raging. Just a hunch.

Before you pop in the earplugs, here's a trip through 50 Acres Campground: