Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
Bringing together local businesses and neighbor of the Tri-Cities region. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Skip Mauney helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around The Tri-Cities.
Is your business serving the residents of Tri-Cities? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpTri-Cities.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
EP# 228: NASCAR, Neighbors, and Nighttime Calls: Behind the Scenes at Hick's White Top Campground
What makes Rocco Valluzzo wiith Hick’s White Top Campground a good neighbor?
Ever wonder what it's like running a campground that hosts hundreds of passionate NASCAR fans? Rocco Valluzzo pulls back the curtain on Hicks White Top Campground, revealing the midnight phone calls from excited race fans, the round-the-clock service during race weekends, and the year-round work that goes unnoticed by most visitors.
"About 90% of people think 'man, this is easy, you've got it made,'" Rocco laughs, sharing how the family business has evolved over the past decade. What started with his parents has become a true family operation, with Rocco progressing from helping with cooking and concessions to managing all operations and maintenance alongside his wife. The campground primarily serves NASCAR enthusiasts who return faithfully race after race, year after year, creating a community where veteran campers often help newcomers navigate their first Bristol experience.
The pandemic tested Rocco's patience as he waited for racing to return and venues to reopen. Despite the challenges, loyal customers maintained their traditions however they could – some even camping just to hear the distant engines roar from outside the Speedway. Now, Hicks White Top is expanding beyond NASCAR weekends, opening their seven-acre property for everything from baby showers to car shows, live music, and monthly yard sales. They've "never said no to anybody" looking for event space, making this racing destination increasingly valuable to local Tri-Cities residents year-round. And after years of culinary experiments ranging from crawfish boils to catfish fries, Rocco (a Lower Alabama native) discovered the universal truth of Southern hospitality: "everyone loves barbecue."
Ready to experience the community spirit of Hicks White Top Campground? Whether you're planning your first NASCAR weekend or looking for a unique local venue, visit HicksCampground.com to learn more about this Tri-Cities hidden gem!
To learn more about Hick’s White Top Campground go to:
https://www.hickscampground.com/
Hick’s White Top Campground
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So I'm pretty stoked today to have a very special guest in our studio. So I'm excited to learn all about them and their business. And if you're a fan of NASCAR, you're going to be just as excited because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Mr Rocco Valuzzo, who is the owner operator of Hicks White Top Campground. Rocco, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Well, we're thrilled to have you, like I said, super excited to learn all about you and your campground. So, if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us what you do?
Speaker 3:We are a campground that's primarily open for NASCAR and other events at the Speedway and Dragstrip. I would say about 50% of the mom and pops around the Speedway just operate with NASCAR or other large events. So we see customers two, three, maybe four times a year, kind of all over the place. We usually get a couple international campers. But yeah, we're here. Rain shine as long as the race enthusiasts are here, so are we.
Speaker 2:All right, very cool. So how did you get into the restaurant?
Speaker 3:It's actually a family business. My mom and stepfather got in about 10 years ago and I've been started out helping and then cooking and doing concessions and catering for them and their campers, and then slowly moved up to operations and maintenance.
Speaker 2:Wow, so you just kind of family affair.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a traditional mom and pop Me and my wife do everything customer service, booking, maintenance so, yeah, we kind of keep it in the family.
Speaker 2:There you go. That's great. That's what we specialize in here on this show. So what are some myths or misconceptions in the campground?
Speaker 3:business. I think a lot of I would say about 90% of the people. They come down they're enthusiastic, they're going to a big event, they've been drinking and they're just man, this is easy, you've got it made. And then the other 10% of the campers, a little bit more observant, is like you were here last night at 3 in the morning and you're here again at 6 in the morning. It's like do you go to bed, Do you sleep? So I think most people think it's just oh, they're only open a couple weeks a year, but it's a lot of goes on in between, and not just during the events, but maintenance and handling reservations throughout the year. We occasionally get the two in the morning phone calls got screaming I'm coming to NASCAR, woo, and just hangs up. You're like yeah, we'll see you here, um, but yeah, it's uh.
Speaker 3:The customers make it easy. They're usually a good bunch of people. Um, they're diehards. They're usually a good bunch of people, they're diehards. They come twice a year. They've been coming for 10 years. So they make it easier and then they can kind of help out the newbies. You know, first Bristol event, so everyone kind of, anything from I don't know how to park my camper to how do I get to the speedway? The diehards help us out.
Speaker 2:Very good, very good. That's so funny. Two o'clock in the morning, woo-hoo Come in. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I get phone calls all the time. Yeah, it's the most inconvenient time, usually too, of course.
Speaker 2:Of course. Yeah, well, outside of work, rocco, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:I've got two kids under three so we try to get them out to see as much of the Tri-Cities as possible. We just did the dinosaurs at the Speedway and then we'll take them to farm events strawberry festivals next weekend and I'm in my early 40s, wife's in her late 30s, so we try to go out and see as much live music from our teenage years as possible.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and there's a ton of that in Bristol and in the city.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the casino is really stepping up its game here. In the last year bringing people in.
Speaker 2:So, wow, Well, time with family always a good answer. So let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome, either personally or professionally, and how it made you stronger in the end?
Speaker 3:I'm not one for patience, biggest patient maker for us all just sitting back and waiting to see you know when everything was going to get back to normal, or our version of normal, and just complying with all rules and regulations, like I've got to be active in doing something. So just having a whole year and a half, two years where you're just waiting for you know venues to open and families to you know gather and you know like NASCAR just to open up again, was kind of, you know, a test of patience, especially for me.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, for everybody. I mean everybody you know, especially know, especially, you know big venues like that and football games. I remember going to a tennessee game that, uh, you know you had to sit six feet apart and it was only 30 000 people and you know that could go in the studio in the stadium. That holds a lot more than that. You know that was interesting and that was after about a year, I think.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know we had some customers um knew that they couldn't get tickets, the race was running, but they camped and they just wanted to walk over to the speedway just to hear the cars and of course they were chased off. But you know, they came back to the campground and watched on tv and you know, but they tried. You know they, they were going to do what they were normally used, know, but they tried. You know they were, they were going to do what they were normally used to doing, but they still came and even though they couldn't get inside, they still had a good time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Awesome. Well, Rocco, if there was one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about Hicks White Top Campground, what would that be?
Speaker 3:top campground. What would that be? We're actually opening up and doing more um events, uh, whether it's baby showers or live music. Um, a lot of our customers are out-of-towners, tourists, so we're just hopefully the locals. You know, if they need seven acres for an event or just 2,000 square feet to get out the weather, car shows, we've never said no to anybody. So anything from music to car shows, baby showers, we do have a Saturday group that meets to do yard sales and things along that line.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's very cool, like a train lot kind of thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, they're on Facebook Marketplace and then they meet every Saturday and then the first of every month they do have a giant yard sale.
Speaker 2:Nice, very nice. Good to know. Well, if Any of our listeners are interested in having an event they'd like to schedule, or just want to come hang out during a NASCAR event, how can they learn more?
Speaker 3:You can find us at HicksCampgroundcom and then we advertise with the Speedway and we're there. Our name and number and address and contact is with Google, so we're listed.
Speaker 2:Very good, Now you do. You were doing some cooking. You have any specialties in the campground?
Speaker 3:you know, I'm from lower alabama. I had learned the hard way, uh, but it took me a while to realize that everyone loves barbecue. Yeah, yeah, we tried. Yeah, we tried crawfish boil, shrimp, boil, fried catfish, and then, once we got barbecue, we stuffed with barbecue, made everybody happy now, you're from alabama.
Speaker 2:Is that white sauce in alabama? Yeah, we're home of the white sauce, yep yep, well, I'm from north carolina, so I'm a vinegar western north carolina, so Western vinegar, tomato based. But I love white sauce though.
Speaker 3:It's good with chicken it is Absolutely, absolutely Well.
Speaker 2:Rocco, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed chatting with you and learning all about your campground and we appreciate you telling our listeners and hope that, moving forward, we wish you and your family and the Hicks White Top Campground all the best. Yes, sir, I appreciate it. Thank you all. Yes, sir, thank you, and maybe we can have you back sometime when you got a big event coming up. Sure, anytime, all right, sounds good. Thanks so much, rock.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. All right, sounds good. Thanks so much, rock. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873. Seven, three, the.