Stryker Brigade News

“My husband (Army Maj. Wayne Brewster) and I were subscribers and I thought I could contribute something fun and lighthearted,” said Brewster.

“The feedback from fans has been great. A lot of people can relate to what I have to say because I’m not an insider. I write from the fan’s perspective.”

“I think part of my column’s appeal is the fact that I’m a military wife and so many military folks are also NASCAR fans. I think it also helps that I’m a woman, partly due to the fact that NASCAR is the fastest growing sport among women,” said Brewster.

Brewster has followed stock car racing for the past five years. She credits her husband for drawing her to the sport when they were assigned to Fort Benning Ga.

Her favorite drivers are the Army’s “Front Row” Joe Nemechek and Dale Jarrett, though she dislikes several others who can remain nameless.

Currently assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Brewster flew across three time zones to catch the final race to the chase.

“We’ve been to races in Kansas and Atlanta, but we always wanted to go to a night race, and I knew that this Richmond race was potentially the most exciting.”

Unfortunately her husband, the operations officer for 2-1 Infantry Battalion of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), was unable to make the trip with her to this race.

He’s with his unit in Northern Iraq. He’s been gone over a month.

“I worry about his safety, but I know he’s well trained,” says Brewster.

Brewster’s husband is not the only family member she has overseas. Both a brother and a brother-in-law are currently in Afghanistan.

Despite the distance, the Brewsters keep in touch with the help of the internet.

“We communicated almost daily via email when he was in Kuwait. But he’s been really busy since he arrived in Iraq, so he’s only been able to send a couple of notes.”

Brewster intends to absorb as much as possible of the weekend’s Richmond International Raceway atmosphere so she can share it with her Soldier.

“I’m going to send him lots of pictures and write to him about the whole race experience. I’ve been shopping the souvenir haulers to buy him some Matt Kenseth (his favorite driver) merchandise.”

Brewster says that her husband expects to be able to watch the Saturday night race on the Armed Forces Network in Iraq. Of course, it’ll be about sunrise Sunday morning in Mosul when the green flag drops.

With redeployment set for to occur in about a year, you can imagine that NASCAR figures into their reunion plans.

“We want to go to a race in Las Vegas, and maybe another night race in Bristol.”

As to the immediate future, Brewster intends to continue her writing about racing, especially now.

“I recently received feedback from a fellow Army wife whose husband will be coming home in November. She told me that she related closely to my story because she and her husband frequently went to races together, especially in Darlington and Atlanta,” said Brewster.

She told me she went to Atlanta by herself. She enjoyed the race but she missed being with her husband.”

Standing in the Richmond garage area, surrounded by hundreds of drivers, mechanics and NASCAR officials, Brewster sees similarities between the Army and her favorite sport.