Rusty Tests at Gateway: Testing for Phoenix and Homestead, but not at Phoenix and Homestead. #2-Rusty Wallace and crew tested Tuesday & Wednesday (Oct 22nd & 23rd) at Gateway International Raceway, the 1.25-mile track near Madison, Ill., in preparation for the upcoming races at Phoenix and Homestead. “We were out of tests and it was a logical alternative,” reports Penske Racing South shop foreman Gary Brooks. “Rusty and the guys are testing today (22nd) for Phoenix and tomorrow (23rd) for Homestead. They carried the (PC-) 51 car and the (PC-) 27 up there. The plan is to race the 51 at Homestead and we’ll run the 49 at Phoenix. We used the 49 at Martinsville on Sunday and couldn’t get it turned around in time, so we sent the Martinsville backup (27) to the test. They’re saying that St. Louis (Gateway) has similar characteristics of both Phoenix and Homestead, so we’ll see how it benefits. On thing for sure is that testing there is better than no test at all, isn’t it?”(Tom Roberts PR)(10-24-2002)
