A/N: Teal'c's turn! Let's see how the most serious guy in the SGC deals with one of the fastest tracks in NASCAR. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Finals are almost over, so hopefully I will go back to the weekly updates.
The Tau'ri were strange. His dealings with the people at the SGC had proved that. But these new Tau'ri, they made Teal'c almost do a double take. Looking up into the stands, Teal'c could see many examples of the oddness of the human species. There were several men sitting near the flagstand wearing no shirts, but with writing on their chests. There was another man walking through the infield with the number 3 shaved into his hairy back. The Tau'ri were an odd people.
Jimmie was standing next to the car, looking more and more nervous. Teal'c was a big guy, and Jimmie was getting worried about how this experience was gonna turn out. With a sigh, he slowly climbed into the car and started buckling up.
Teal'c gave one final glance at the Tau'ri in the stands and headed towards the number 48 car. He now added the NASCAR drivers into his mental list of things not to ask about. Hopefully, this would be similar to his first time in a death glider. That was the closest Teal'c had ever come to an adrenaline rush.
"Ok, I think I've made up my mind. I feel sorrier for Jimmie."
Junior walked over to the window next to the colonel. "Why is that?"
"You don't know Teal'c. From what I've seen, Jimmie is talkative, hyper, and ready for action. Teal'c has two phrases he uses – indeed and very well. They are on the opposite ends of the spectrum."
"But why do you feel sorrier for Jimmie?"
Daniel moved up next to Junior. "You just have to know Teal'c. He's got a calmness about him that is just eerie. He's Teal'c. There's no other way to say it."
"Well then guys," started Jeff. A loud cough came from behind him. "Excuse me. Well then guys and Major Carter, shall we see who is victorious in the battle of the wills?"
The three members of SG-1 turned towards the window and as one muttered, "Teal'c."
As soon as both men were strapped into the car, Jimmie looked over at Teal'c. "Are you ready?"
"Indeed."
Jimmie shot an odd look at his passenger as muffed laughter came over the headsets. "In that case, let's git 'er dun!" With that, the 48 car roared off pit road.
Teal'c could feel the forces pushing him back into the seat as the car moved up onto the banking of the track. The wind was whipping through the window, just adding to the experience. Nothing could describe this. Well, maybe something.
"Chelnok."
"What's that mean, Teal'c?" asked Jimmie.
"Direct translation: very cool." came the answer over his headset.
The rest of SG-1 and the four NASCAR drivers still in the announcer's booth were watching the car race around the track. They saw Jimmie rush into the corners, cutting them down almost to the grass to decrease his lap times. Turning into the corners like this also helped him keep up his speed. Jimmie never let off the gas.
By his second lap, he was up to full speed. Jeff was timing his teammate. Although this wasn't the car he would be running in the actual race, timing the car still helped them with ideas for the race. The 48 car was putting down some of the best laps of all four drivers.
Jeff spoke into his headset. "Jimmie, you're getting in some good laps. First hot lap was 53.024 seconds."
The colonel gave Jeff a quizzical look. "Yeah, just let me do the math on that. Does somebody want to convert that to numbers I can use?"
Several voices answered at once, all with the same answer. Jimmie and Teal'c were going nearly 170 mph.
Junior gave the colonel the answer to his unasked question. "We're able to translate that quickly because lap times are our best indicators to how well we are running. Daytona is one of our major tracks, so the conversions are almost instantaneous."
Mikey then cut in. "Normally, 170 is pretty slow for this track. During the race, times will be around 45 seconds, or 200 mph. These cars are double seaters, and are carrying more weight. They're gonna be slower than what we will run tonight."
"Wait a minute, Mikey. Are you telling me that ride I took with you was SLOW! I felt like I was gonna go flying out the back of the car!"
"Well, if you thought that was exciting, wait until you see us go 200 mph with 42 other drivers on the track. Now that is an adrenaline rush!"
DW spoke up. "Let's start the adrenaline rush early. Let's see if Mr. Unflappable can handle another few laps with Jimmie."
By this time, they were nearing the end of their time on track. Jimmie was putting the pedal to the metal, and going full blast into the corners. Fans were pressed up against the fence trying to get a closer look at the driver and his car. Each time Jimmie and Teal'c went by they got a blast of air and the smell of fuel.
There had been little talk while in the car. Teal'c was content to say nothing and just listen to the sounds, see the sights, and feel the emotions that were this new experience. The engine was roaring away in front of him, pulling the nearly two ton machine around the track. The grandstands were whizzing by, a mass of colors. The emotions were welling inside of him. This was incredible.
As the car started to slow, Teal'c heard Jimmie's voice over the headset. "Teal'c, it's been ten laps. Do you want to do more?"
"Indeed."
"Geez, you really don't talk much, do you?" Jimmie realized what he said and immediately spoke up. "Rhetorical question Teal'c. Let's try a moving burnout."
As they reached the start/finish line, Jimmie completely stopped the car. As the fans started pushing up against the fence, he pressed on both the gas and brake pedals. The car started billowing white smoke. They started moving sideways down the track, leaving a trail of rubber behind them. Suddenly, a loud bang came from the left side of the car, and Jimmie immediately headed for pit road.
The pre-race ceremonies weren't going to start for another hour, so the NASCAR guys decided to take SG-1 to meet some other drivers. They were heading down towards pit road when it happened. Jimmie blew a tire. He immediately turned around and headed towards them.
After Teal'c and Jimmie had unstrapped and crossed the pit wall, the teasing started. Jeff immediately started ribbing his teammate. "So, ya can't even do a burnout right! If you can blow a tire that easily, remind me to stay away from you during the race!"
"Hey, I stay away from him anyways. He's dangerous!"
"Cut it out, guys. Ask Teal'c. Was it fun? Would you do this again with me as the driver?"
"Undomesticated equines could not keep me away."
Every person within earshot, except SG-1, turned and stared. Jack edged closer to Teal'c. "Uh, T? The cliché is wild horses couldn't keep me away."
Mikey decided to cut the silence that followed that statement. "Well, now that we're on pit road, and we have a while before pre-race, what do ya'll say to meeting some other people?"
"Like who?"
"Like my buddy Matt Kenseth," said Junior.
"Or some of the young guns, like Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, and Jamie McMurray," said Jeff.
At this point the colonel spoke up. "Ya know, I don't care who we meet, or where we go, as long as we get to hear those engines, and see those cars go!"
"Well, then let's go!" As they split up, Junior and Daniel started walking over towards the motor homes, Jeff and Jack headed towards the number 24 pit stall, Mikey and Teal'c went to one of the pit reporters, and Jimmie and Sam headed to the haulers.
All were thinking that the rest of the day was going to be interesting, but Teal'c summed it up best. As he and Mikey walked away from the pit stall, he was overhead saying, "One small step for Jaffa."
A/N: It's almost 2:30 in the morning, so there's no way I'm waking anyone up to beta. Requests for any other drivers, pit crew, or TV personalities? I'll try to work them in!
Oh, and the number 3 shaved in the hairy back? I have a picture of a guy with that taken at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol. I spit water all over the computer screen when my friend sent me that email.