It was a lonely drive around Jax Raceway's oiled dirt oval that weekday afternoon, running past the empty grandstands -- the only sound the flags flapping in the tepid breeze.

But as I rounded its banked turns and went down the short front straight in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo designed by the late Dale Earnhardt, you could almost hear the cheers and tears.

The late NASCAR racer wanted a version of the 2002 Monte Carlo SS Chevrolet sold on the lot to have a bit of the Intimidator in it. So he proposed a long, lean and black version with a number "3" on its side and decals all over its body that sadly now pays memorial to a NASCAR driver whose life ended during an accident the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

The result is called the Dale Earnhardt Signature Edition coupe, approved by the family after his death and limited to only 3,333 versions with a list price of ,710 list price, ,100 of it the Earnhardt package. And the company says it will make a donation for each one sold to the Foundation for the Carolinas, a charity selected by the Earnhardt family.

After the photo shoot at the empty bullpen, the only NASCAR race track in Northeast Florida north of Daytona, track owner Roger Godbee said Chevy did the Monte Carlo and Dale right with the model.

"They did a real good job in fixing it up and it is a really good tribute to Earnhardt and his legacy," he said. "You just can't buy them anywhere and only a few of them were made. They are very expensive."

The Monte Carlo was born as a 1970 model, first described as a personal luxury coupe. The first Super Sport (SS) model showed up the same year, and racer Junior Johnson introduced it to NASCAR the next year, with a young Dale Earnhardt scoring his first win in one in 1979. The 1983 Monte Carlo saw the return of the Super Sport with an aerodynamic slanted nose and 5-liter V-8. The Monte Carlo retired from street and track again in 1988, only to return in 1995 as a coupe version of the Lumina sedan. The latest Monte Carlo surfaced in 2000, no longer looking like a sedan but using the Chevy Impala platform, suspension and chassis stiffening braces.

Side by side with a regular black Monte Carlo SS, the Signature Edition's differences are mostly cosmetic. It gets silver and red trim on the bottom of the lowered side sill aerodynamic package with inset fog lights in front. The NASCAR-inspired rear spoiler looks a bit more dramatic, while the Earnhardt option package adds No. 3 decals and his signature on the C Pillars. The vertical taillight stack of the 1980's Montes are imitated in the distinct double-circle design of the 2002 model, encased under clear plastic. Nearby, an ''Intimidator'' decal is set on the back while Richard Childress Racing decals are placed on the lower side sills. The car gets special five-spoke alloy wheels wearing 16-inch Goodyear Eagle RSA performance rubber while two big exhaust pipes stick out from under the rear bumper.

Compared to other special edition cars done in the 1970s and 1980s to honor racers, this one is subtle and didn't get a lot of reaction on the street, even from owners of Monte Carlo SSs.

Leave lots of room to get inside, because the doors are long. Once there, you will see a two-tone ebony and pewter gray interior with more Earnhardt highlights, starting with an embroidered red Chevy bowtie emblem on each seat's front headrest. With power seat bottom adjustments and a manual lumbar support, they are comfortable if not as grippy as they appear. They face a leather-wrapped but not-so-sporty-looking black three-spoke steering wheel with integrated stereo and cruise controls, all backlit at night. Under the slightly sweeping padded dash hood sits a central 140-mph speedometer, with a 7,000-rpm tach on the right and a full complement of gauges on the left. A RCR, No. 3 and Earnhardt signature grace the speedometer. You also rest your leadfoot on embroidered Earnhardt floor mats.

The dash top arcs down to a driver-oriented center stack with a powerful AM-FM-CD-cassette deck on top, then a dual climate a/c system, both with user-friendly buttons and knobs. Other controls like the power window and door lock switches fall easily at hand and had a precise feel as well as being backlit as well. Overhead, a small trip computer is integrated into a mini-console with a three-channel Homelink garage door transmitter, while map lights are integrated into the auto-dim rear-view mirror. The glove box is small, as are the door map pockets, while the compartment under the arm rest is big. Twin cup holders flank the gearshift. Our car had a sunroof, it only vented and didn't slide open fully.

Rear seating access is OK via flip forward seats, and there is adequate room back there for two adults with a fold-down armrest that includes two more cup holders. The rear seat backs flip and fold to increase the decent-sized, flat trunk, which has a small cargo net. The Earnhardt version also gets a standard OnStar satellite-linked emergency communications system and driver's side air bag.

How about under the hood compared with Earnhardt's 750-horsepower, V-8-powered racer?

The base Monte LS gets a 3.4-liter, 180-hp engine, while our SS gets a 200 hp, 3.8-liter V-6 that hauled the SS to 60 mph in a decent 7.5 seconds with a nice growl from the twin pipes and lots of passing power. We could spin the front wheels on demand before the traction control kicked in. The car feels solid, with a firm yet comfortable suspension that lets the big car handle pretty well. It doesn't have a sports car suspension, probably because most of the people who buy it don't want a sports car, just a sporty one that reminds them of their favorite high-banks racers. But it does hang on well coming off an expressway ramp, while tighter turns cause it to understeer and lean a bit. The power steering had a precise feel, while the SS gets bigger disc brakes front and rear, the fronts cooled via NASCAR-inspired ducts that helped the brakes grab well with a bit of fade after heavy use.

A basic Monte Carlo SS costs ,995, which includes the 200-hp V-6, sport-tuned suspension, 16-inch alloy wheels, rear spoiler, cruise control, cloth seats, AM-FM-cassette deck, OnStar, cruise control and remote keyless entry. The ,100 Earnhardt package adds the ground effects package, special 16-inch wheels, graphics package, race-inspired rear spoiler and the pewter leather trim inside. Another option package included the trip computer, power driver's seat and power outside mirrors, while another added the sunroof. The six-speaker AM-FM-CD-cassette stereo was more, power passenger seat and front seat heaters . Add that plus another option or two and delivery and the manufacturer's suggested retail price is ,710.

Bottom line -- the Monte Carlo SS is a nice sporty car that has the cachet of being the basis for one of the winningest NASCAR racers around, at least when it comes to fans. And that is exactly who will buy this Earnhardt edition Monte -- folks who want some tactile reminder of the Intimidator and can't afford a race car. But have no doubts -- anyone who wants a better idea of what Earnhardt drove should check out a Corvette ZO6, much closer to the race car he raced superbly a few weeks before his death at the Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona. And also know that like any special edition, especially one that now memorializes Earnhardt, you probably won't find any at list price anywhere.