Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Sgt. Ashley Ayers of the Virginia Army National Guard will be a VIP at Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. Ayers, of the Carver community, was chosen to represent the local Guard units. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Friday, March 27, 2009
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Sgt. Ashley Ayers of the Virginia Army National Guard will get the royal treatment during Sunday’s NASCAR race at the Martinsville Speedway.
Crown Royal Whisky, a sponsor of the No. 26 car driven by Jamie McMurray, will recognize Ayers as a VIP during the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500.
She will represent the 1173rd Transportation Co. and the 116th Infantry, both of which are based at the Martinsville Armory.
Ayers said she feels honored, but she wishes all local Guard members had been chosen to be VIPs.
Due to their hard work, “the honor should ... go to more people,” she said.
Choosing a VIP from the National Guard was Crown Royal’s way of honoring Henry County-Martinsville residents in service to their country as hometown heroes, according to Guard Master Sgt. Stephen Gill.
The Guard chose Ayers to be the VIP because she is a model soldier, said Gill, a noncommissioned officer in charge of recruiting and retention efforts.
He described her as being competent, dependable, trustworthy, resourceful and self-motivated.
“She always can be counted on,” Gill said. “If she’s given a task, she’s going to accomplish it” with little or no supervision.
Ayers, who lives in the Carver community, recalled she has been to either four or five races at the speedway. But this will be her first time as a VIP.
She greatly prefers to watch a stock car race in person than on television.
“It gives you the whole experience,” said Ayers, 25. Truly enjoying a race involves not only watching cars go around the track hundreds of times, but also hanging out with thousands of other spectators, she said.
She recalled having seen a few arguments between fans over who is the best NASCAR driver. But despite those incidents, “there seems to be a lot of pretty nice people” at the races, she said.
As a member of the National Guard, Ayers is a soldier for one weekend per month and two weeks every summer. She is a squad leader and truck driver for the 1173rd and has had a tour of duty in Iraq.
When she is not working for the Guard, Ayers works at Texas Steakhouse in Martinsville.
She joined the Guard when she was 17 as a way to express her patriotism. When she expressed the idea of joining, some people in her family thought she never actually would do it, she remembered.
But “I’m kind of stubborn,” she said, laughing. “If you say I won’t do something, I’ll do it!”
Her husband, Sgt. Derek Ayers, also is in the 1173rd.
On Sunday, Ashley Ayers will get a tour of the speedway’s pit and garage areas, have lunch with Crown Royal representatives and attend driver introductions before watching the race.
Although she will be able to watch the race from the pit, Ayers is considering joining some of her friends from the National Guard in the grandstands.
Her VIP treatment will enable her to learn more about NASCAR. She has been to only a few races at the speedway, but she said her experience Sunday likely will lure her back to the track more often. |
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