DOVER, Del. -- These days, the Monster Mile is showing its softer side.

At least along pit road, where the old steel divider running along the frontstretch has been replaced by a concrete wall coated in the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier. As a result, Dover's typically frantic and crowded pit road is now wider, longer, features a full 43 pit stalls, and is receiving almost universal praise from drivers preparing for Sunday's Sprint Cup event on the 1-mile race track.

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It's going to be very tricky getting to pit road, but it was pretty darn tricky before, so it certainly couldn't have gotten any worse than that.

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JEFF GORDON

"It looks good. It looks wide. It looks like there's definitely more room in the pit stalls," said Kasey Kahne, who qualified second for the Autism Speaks 400. "I don't think there's going to be nearly the mess and difficulty on pit road that there's been in the past if you get a really bad stall."

At a facility where a horse racing track and an auto racing oval share the same piece of real estate, elbow room has always been an issue. That's certainly been the case on pit road, where Dover's historically short and narrow confines have forced some teams starting at the back of the field to double up on stalls. A project started in December and finished two weeks ago added four feet of width to the pit lane by replacing the old grass strip on the frontstretch, and extended the exterior pit wall 432 feet into Turn 4.

Dover now features a full 43 pit stalls, each of them 32 feet long rather than 28. Some infield grass in Turn 4 was also eliminated to create a wider apron so cars approaching the new pit-road entrance would have a clear area in which to slow down.

"Dover's pit road is challenging enough, and making it longer will just make life a little easier for a lot of teams," said David Reutimann, winner of last week's Coca-Cola 600 and the pole for Sunday's event. "Something I never understood is how you could come to a facility like this, as nice as it is, and have to have some teams share a pit stall. That was kind of a strange deal. I think they definitely did the right thing. I know it's not something you can just snap your fingers and make happen. I know there was a lot of planning that had to go into that. I think it will definitely be a welcome change. As far being any more tricky or difficult, I don't think so."

On that topic, some would disagree. Drivers won't know just how challenging the new pit road entrance might be until the race starts. Jeff Gordon -- who will have to start in a backup car Sunday after pancaking his No. 24 into the wall during his qualifying run -- is among those who will approach it cautiously. Dover is a track that generates high speeds that belie its modest dimensions, and competitors know they'll be on top of the new, extended pit road entrance before they know it.

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"It's going to be very tricky getting to pit road, but it was pretty darn tricky before, so it certainly couldn't have gotten any worse than that," Gordon said. "One of the biggest challenges of getting to pit road here is not necessarily the location of the entry or how narrow the entry was, it's the surface on the apron. You can tell, it's black with a sealer on it. It's very, very slick. And so I think we're still going to be very cautious and have to be very careful just trying to make it to pit road. But the pit road that we have now and the pit stalls that we have are first class. I'm really excited about what they've done here as well as adding the SAFER barrier on the front straightaway is a huge improvement. And I hear there are even some more improvements that are going to coming, possibly with the garage area. And so it's all great news."

A little more room in Dover's cramped and deafening garage area would surely be welcome news. On the new pit road configuration, Gordon's teammate, Jimmie Johnson, wondered if the track might have been better off extending the new wall farther into Turn 1, creating a longer exit rather than the new entrance.

Still, if the tradeoff is a full number of pit stalls and a SAFER barrier covering the outside pit wall, Johnson will gladly take it.

"Soft walls are always good, and we appreciate that. Forty-three stalls were so needed," the defending series champion said. "One concern I have, and I'm sure they've put thought into it, is where the pit wall starts. I think looking back on it, I would have suggested to have it extend around further into Turn 1. That way, entering the corner, there's no way to get down and hit a blunt wall. But again, I've only seen it on paper and I need to go over and look at it. So my first reaction is thank you. It's a great job, and we needed it. It's going to elevate the safety on many levels. I just hope we don't have an issue with that blunt wall."