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Officials from Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Lowe's insist they are still talking in the wake of a report that the home improvement chain is ending its sponsorship of SMI's flagship track.

The Sports Business Journal reported Friday that Lowe's will not renew its 11-year sponsorship of the 1.5-mile oval outside Charlotte, formerly known as Charlotte Motor Speedway.

SMI president and CEO Marcus Smith said both sides are still negotiating and that he remains confident a deal will be completed soon.

"We're still working on and discussing the components of another extension to continue our relationship," Smith said. "Those components have not been finalized, but the process is moving along."

The track hosts several NASCAR events each year, including a pair of Sprint Cup races and the series' All-Star race.

Lowe's spokeswoman Chris Ahern said there was "nothing to report" about the nature of the company's talks with the track.

Lowe's is also the primary sponsor of three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. That deal expires at the end of the 2010 season.

Johnson said Friday before this weekend's Sprint Cup event at Pocono Raceway that his relationship with Lowe's is "great" and he's not worried about what Lowe's decision might mean about its future in NASCAR.

"It's unfortunate that they're not going back, but I guess it is what it is," he said.

SMI owner Bruton Smith, in Kentucky for this weekend's IndyCar race at Kentucky Speedway -- which is owned by SMI -- could not be reached for comment.

Citing unnamed sources, the business publication said Lowe's informed the track's parent company of its decision within the past two weeks.

The track is expected to return to its former name, Charlotte Motor Speedway, in 2010.

The publication said industry sources said SMI initially asked for $9 million per year -- more than twice of the current $3.5 million per year deal.

Lowe's first-quarter earnings for 2009 were down 21.6 percent and overall sales were down 1.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008. Its stock price dropped from a 52-week high of $28.49 to $13 in March before it rebounded to over $21 per share.

Not counting Lowe's, only two other racetracks have sponsorship deals: Infineon Technologies has had naming rights to the Sonoma, Calif., road course since 2002, and the Automobile Club of Southern California signed a deal with the track in Fontana, Calif., last year.

SMI owns Infineon Raceway, while International Speedway Corp. owns the Fontana track.