Still, the chairman of Speedway Motorsports and SonicAutomotive, presented his $150-million idea for AutoSAT to CenterCity Partners, a non-profit group that promotes uptown development.Smith will head a committee to determine how the venture would befinanced. Some funding could come from ticket sales at shops andrestaurants doing business in the planned 300,000-sf museum.

Smith also doesn't have a proposed site yet for the venture.North Tyron Street in the city's cultural district is onepossibility. Despite the lack of immediate details, theentrepreneur feels the time is right for the project.

He cites auto makers that have invested heavily in the regionover the past 10 years, the racing industry's employment of 5,500persons in the Charlotte area, and the annual attendance of morethan 1.1 million fans at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC,about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte.