WITH LVCVA LEAVIN' LAS VEGAS, SPEEDWAY RACE GETS NEW SPONSOR

          Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials "confirmed" Thursday
     that they are "in the final stages of negotiating" with
     CarsDirect.com to be the title sponsor for the track's March
     5, 2000 Winston Cup race, according to Jeff Wolf of the LAS
     VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL.  The speedway "has tentatively set"
     November 3 as a date for an official announcement.  The Las
     Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has
     sponsored the race the past two years "as part of an
     advertising package that included sponsorship of the annual"
     IRL event, VIP suite, signage and "other marketing items." 
     LVCVA paid the Speedway $1.7M annually, but was unable to
     renew the deal this year "because of lower income from hotel
     room taxes" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/15).
          LITTLE AL MAKES IT OFFICIAL: Al Unser Jr.
     "acknowledged" that he will be driving in the IRL in 2000
     and has signed a five-year deal reuniting him with team
     owner Rick Galles and sponsor Valvoline (SPEEDNET, 10/15).