"I am living the American Dream," Seamon said. "I have a second shot. No one ever gets a second chance, but I have."

When Seamon, behind the wheel of the Charlie Taylor Motorsports Escort, showed up in the winners circle at the recently completed IHRA Texas Nationals in San Antonio, there were a lot of people scratching their heads and saying "hmmm….that name sounds familiar."

Let’s stop for a moment and take a trip down memory lane.

In 1998, there was a rookie driver who took the IHRA’s Pro Stock class by storm. In only his first season behind the wheel of a mountain-motored beast, 27-year-old Seamon raced his way to a world championship. In 1999, he seemingly disappeared from the sport.

Well, get used to hearing that name again, because the successful duo of Dan Seamon and Charlie Taylor has re-entered the Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock scene and they’re here to play.

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Following their championship effort in 1998, Seamon and Taylor made the decision to go their separate ways. Amidst much speculation that there were ill feelings between the pair, Seamon said, "I was a kid and Charlie had other business interests he wanted to pursue. There were no hard feelings. For me it was time to do something different, and my wife and I wanted to start a family."

Seamon and wife Jen were successful in their new endeavor, which resulted in two beautiful daughters Alexandria and Hannah, and a beautiful black lab named Lenco.

Taylor took the 1999 season off and then continued to race with driver Tom Lee behind the wheel for two more seasons before calling it quits.

"It is a tremendous amount of work and my wife [Jane] and I do it all by ourselves at home," Taylor explained. "At the time I had other obligations and needed to focus my attention on them."

Although both had left the full-time racing scene, neither was far from the sport.

"About 2-3 years after I stopped racing, I thought Jenny was about to kill me," Seamon laughed.

Seamon first re-surfaced in 2003 with a new race deal behind the wheel of John Montecalvo’s second car. Apparently he wasn’t the only one missing the sport, however, as from time-to-time Taylor would also re-surface on the racing scene, typically help a fellow racer work out a tuning issue or two.

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"Last March [2004], Jane looked at me and said ‘build another car,’" Taylor said. "I think it was a whole 10 minutes later before I had things rolling to make that happen."

The plans to put a Taylor Motorsports car back on the track were in motion and the decision to put Seamon behind the wheel was one that the former World Championship was truly humbled by.

"Charlie is my mentor," Seamon explained. "He is a drill sergeant, and if I don’t perform, we are both let down."

However, when it comes to safety and technology, Taylor is known for his attention to detail.

"He, by far, is the most particular owner/crew chief in Pro Stock racing," Seamon said. "All bases are covered in that car, and he puts the best equipment in it that money can buy."

When it came time to select a driver the first time around, Taylor knew he wanted someone who he could teach to drive his way.

"I did some questioning around; looking for someone who hadn’t driven a full-bodied door car," Taylor explained. "I wanted someone that I could teach my way of driving. I wanted them to have the car come to them, not them going to the car."

When Seamon got the original call from Taylor, he was up for the challenge.

"I had no idea who Charlie was, and one day, out of nowhere, he called and asked me if I would be interested in learning to drive a door car," Seamon said. "After that I went to Roy Hill’s driving school and earned my Pro Stock license."

Taylor and Seamon made their rounds in the Top Sportsman ranks for the next few years before making the move to Pro Stock in 1998.

According to Seamon, they were ready to make the move. "Towards the end of 1997, we switched out the clutch in the Top Sportsman car and put in a Lenco. Charlie was really into getting a top end performance out of the car and I was really into leaving and getting the car to the finish line, so it all just fell into place."

"It was in the plan from the beginning to go Pro Stock racing," Taylor added. "I am not a good bracket racer; my theory about a race car is that you get out of it what you can get out of it."

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The Torco Race Fuels Pro Stock class has come a long way in the past few years, but the re-emergence of the Taylor / Seamon team is racing like they haven’t skipped a beat. It is as if they almost never even left.

With sheer determination and high goals, they are out to set things straight and leave a new mark in the history books.

"We were not a fluke in 1998, and this is our chance to prove it," Seamon said. "My goal is to win the championship and stand up on that podium at the banquet and thank Charlie and Jane Taylor."

As if there were any questions about the tenacity that Taylor possesses, one needs only to watch the miracles that he creates on the racetrack to get a full understanding of the determination he has to reach in goals in 2005.

"I am there to win," Taylor explained. "I want to win the world championship and the Torco Race Fuels shootout. I know it will be tough to get into the shootout this year, but it isn’t impossible."