When Mike Hampton was growing up in Florida, his head was being filled with NASCAR lore.

Hampton, the Colorado Rockies' Opening Day pitcher, has been a Winston Cup aficionado for a long time.

"I was about 8 years old when my family and I started going to the Daytona 500,'' Hampton said. "I'm a big-time NASCAR fan. I watch it all the time. I'm trying to get some of these guys (Rockies) to follow it, but I haven't got any takers yet. There's a couple country boys in here. Brent Butler knows a little bit about it, and Todd Jones. But it's kind of limited.''

Hampton has NASCAR memorabilia in his dressing stall at Coors Field, including a mug inscribed with Jeff Gordon's No. 24.

"When I first started watching, I was a Cale Yarborough fan, then he retired,'' Hampton said. "I started liking Davey Allison, and then he had the helicopter crash and he died. Then Jeff Gordon came on the scene. I like the way he drives. He drives like his hair is on fire.''

It's NASCAR's style and popularity that astonish Hampton.

"It's the speed and the skill it takes to drive a race car that appeals to me,'' Hampton said. "Drivers put their lives on the line every time they get in the car. Those guys are pretty amazing. For anybody that has watched it on TV, (you can't) appreciate it as much as seeing it live.

"When we first started going to Daytona, they didn't have the back grandstand, they didn't have the Winston tower and there were empty seats. You could walk right in. Now, it's so popular. It's awesome. I wish I had been able to get into it, financial-wise, about 15 years ago before it started to take off.''

After Hampton leaves baseball, he has NASCAR plans.

"I've been to Daytona, Darlington and Talladega,'' Hampton said. "When I get done, I'm going to do the circuit. I'm going to try get to five or six races a year until I can say I've been to all of them.''

Generation gap
Bobby Hamilton, 44, is bridging the generation gap.

The four-time Winston Cup winner operates three Craftsman Truck Series teams, supports his son's Busch Series career and drives the Schneider Electric Chevrolet in Winston Cup races.

And, he's tired of hearing about Winston Cup's young guns.

"The media are starting to ask all these questions about older drivers and how they can't keep up with the younger generation,'' Hamilton said. "It all stems from losing Dale Earnhardt. Our sport not only lost the best race-car driver, but we also lost a person who was from the old-school generation that kicked everyone's butt week in and week out.

"... People said that we couldn't keep up with the younger drivers. The way I have it figured is that Jeff Gordon is probably the best guy out there now and Tony Stewart is not far behind him. You don't see Tony out there running on a treadmill to keep up with the young generation, do you?

"So for someone to say that the younger generation is kicking all of us older guys out of there, then they're sadly mistaken. I mean, look at who the NASCAR Winston Cup points leader is -- Sterling Marlin. And the Dayton 500 winner was Ward Burton.''

New Iron Man
Ricky Rudd, 45, started his 656th consecutive race Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600 to surpass Terry Labonte's standard and become the Winston Cup's Iron Man. Rudd finished fourth.

Before the race, Labonte presented Rudd with the Iron Man trophy. Havoline, Rudd's sponsor, gave him a trophy made from iron.

Going nowhere
None of Richard Childress' three cars ranks in the Top 20 in the Winston Cup standings, and rumors have been flying about Richard Childress Racing. Childress says he doesn't plan to leave the series.

"I don't have any intentions of getting away from it,'' he said. "I have frustrations just like everybody, but it's my job. It's my life.''

Jeff Green is the leading Childress driver in 23rd. Robby Gordon is 29th and Kevin Harvick 33rd.

Jim Benton writes for the Rocky Mountain News.