FWIW I skipped it a couple years....and I missed it. There's just no where else you can see as many cars, venders and everything else as BTT50s. Yes, it's a zoo at times, but it just doesn't get any better. And the best way to do it is camp in either one of the campgrounds.
Gone are the good old days when they only used Machinery Hill, or later the north half of the fair grounds. But once a year I'll put up with the BS and just enjoy it as best I can.