SMI LOOKS AT OUTLAWS SERIES AS MORE REVENUE BOOST THAN IRL

          Lowe's Motor Speedway officials announced plans
     yesterday to build a clay oval track on the Speedway
     Motorsports (SMI) property in Charlotte, which will open
     next May with the World of Outlaws series ("RPM 2Night,"
     ESPN2, 8/10).  SMI will hold World of Outlaws races at three
     of its Winston Cup venues next year -- Charlotte, TX and Las
     Vegas -- with the races being televised by TNN and run as
     "support events" for the Winston Cup series.  World of
     Outlaws events will run on Thursday and Friday nights,
     leaving Saturday for BGN races and Sunday for the Winston
     Cup races.  The oval tracks in Charlotte and in TX would
     "initially seat 12,000-15,000 and cost an estimated" $3M. 
     SMI/Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler said the
     company hopes to generate $1M in income next year from the
     series and related events at the dirt tracks.  Company
     officials see the series "as a potentially more reliable
     revenue source" than the IRL (SPEEDNET, 8/11).