Ah, if only Steve Scutt's handsome visitor Thursday could talk.

If so, it would have told of carrying the late Dale Earnhardt to his 75th victory in Atlanta in 2000.

But now, car No. 3 is half its former self: The car was literally cut in half, says Scutt, owner of X-Treme Race Fan on Southern Blvd. The 3 car, made famous by Earnhardt, a racing legend even before he perished at the age of 49 in the Daytona 500 in 2001, still has the racer's water bottle within reach - if a driver were behind the wheel.

Scutt knows all about the Winston Cup Series and everything NASCAR.

That memorable 75th victory - Earnhardt won 76 in his career - was by a mere "one-thousandth of a second" over Bobby Labonte, he said. "Right after, Action (Racing Collectables) bought the car and ordered it cut in half."

Scutt said the car is often shown on TV to illustrate racing's intricacies for viewers during races.

Another visitor at Scutt's store was a brand new 08 car, owned by Joe Gibbs Racing, he said: "taller, wider, safer and heavier" than cars being raced today. And X-Treme Race Fan is the first place in the country to display the car, he said; the car was shipped up to Montana, along with the 3 car, later Thursday.

In addition to the opportunity to see the racecars up close and be photographed with them, customers had an opportunity to buy raffle tickets for some giveaways, with proceeds going to Victory Junction Gang Camp, a project begun by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty.

Although "The Intimidator" has been gone for more than six years, his memory may live on forever, Scutt said, like baseball's Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, basketball's Wilt Chamberlain and football's Vince Lombardi.

"We still move (Earnhardt's) stuff," Scutt said. Also popular at his store are drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

Earnhardt fans will want to tune in to CMT Tuesday at 8 p.m. for "The Story of an American Legend: Dale."

Last summer, the release of Will Ferrell's hilarious "Talladega Nights: The Ricky Bobby Story" attracted new NASCAR fans.

A new TV show this summer, "NASCAR in Prime Time," is helping Scutt's favorite sport, he said.

According to an ABC-TV Web site, NASCAR "might be the fastest-growing sport on Earth and it shows no signs of slowing down. With drivers hurtling around the track at close to 200 miles per hour and fans flocking to raceways in throngs, it's a seemingly unstoppable phenomenon."

"I think it's absolutely wonderful," Scutt said of the new show. "It's letting the country know how popular NASCAR is. It's growing faster than the NFL."

And, of course, it was nice to have some of its "stars" visit his Rio Rancho store.