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Cabarrus tourism officials hope expansions to last year's popular holiday light show at Charlotte Motor Speedway will boost tourism and shopping dollars.

Carolina Christmas, the drive-through light show and exhibition at the track, will be almost double in length from last year, to nearly five miles, when it opens nightly Nov. 23-Dec. 31. It'll feature more than 3 million lights, nearly triple the previous amount.

And a three-mile stretch of Bruton Smith Boulevard and Concord Mills Boulevard will become a "Boulevard of Lights" display with 25,000 twinkling lights and 140 decorations and banners for light poles.

There's also a new website promoting holiday events throughout Cabarrus County -- carolinachristmasnc.com -- and a shopping promotion where the winner can receive a $500 gift card by visiting different town venues, including Reed Gold Mine, Cabarrus Creamery and other stops.

The idea is to turn exit 49 at Interstate 85 into "a true Christmas corridor, with shopping at Concord Mills on one end, and entertainment at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on the other end," said Donna Carpenter, president and CEO of Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The expansion is also to boost the profile of the exit, a prominent hub for the county and gateway to the mall, speedway, restaurants and hotels. Tourism officials' announcement was made at another popular venue at the exit: the Great Wolf Lodge water park, where lifeguards dressed as elves and holiday music competed with the sounds of the water spray features.

Visitor dollars surged from $75 million in 1991 to $313 million in 2010, Carpenter said -- making tourism "a vital industry to Cabarrus County."

An estimated 200,000 visited the light show last year, according to Scott Cooper, vice president of communications for the speedway. Local hoteliers also saw a 20 percent boost in room stays from the previous December, tourism officials said.

This year's speedway show, which will run 6-10 p.m. nightly, includes photos with Santa, a shopping emporium, a festival of trees and marshmallow roasting. The show is closed Christmas Day.

The cost, $20 per vehicles with up to eight people, is the same as last year. But the entrance is different: This year, it's at zMAX Dragway.