It' not easy or fun to admit you are wrong; no one enjoys eating humble pie. I do enjoy the 70's rock band Humble Pie, that featured a young Peter Frampton, but I digress.

I honestly thought that Chase Elliott would struggle this season in the Sprint Cup Series. He's young, inexperienced in the big cars and on top of that, he's replacing a legend: a perfect recipe for disaster. I'm really glad I didn't prove to be a prophet. 

Chase has exceeded beyond my wildest imagination, he's leading laps, contending for wins and is a lock for The Chase. Not bad, not bad at all. What happened to the steep learning curve? Don't you know you're racing against the best stock car drivers on this planet? I can't speak to other racing series not of this world. In baseball he would be a phenom; in NASCAR he's just the brightest young star to light the skies in a decade.  

Over the first 15 races he's scored 11 top 10's and 6 top fives and is outperforming drivers who have been racing longer than Chase has been alive. His parents, Bill and Cindy, have prepared him well and he is blessed with talent, which will soon be showing up in victory circle.

Enjoy the ride Chase, for you're only young once and there will be a lot more races to run. Stop beating yourself up so much, mistakes are the price of admission into the big leagues. One day when you're in victory lane at Daytona, Charlotte or Indy holding the trophy, you'll realize that. In the meantime, I apologize for doubting you and your team, you're bringing the heat.

Now just one selfish favor to ask — make your first win a race that PRN is broadcasting! You now have Sonoma, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Indy and Bristol to choose from.

I imagine that wherever it is, the grandstands will be rocking like Humble Pie at the Fillmore, when you take that first checkered of what will be many.