WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- There is a new look to Watkins Glen International as NASCAR makes its annual stop in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Following Friday's practice, drivers were unanimous in their praise of the alterations taken in the name of safety at the road course.

"You've got to give the track credit and the facility credit for making the adjustments and not sitting on their hands," said five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart.

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I think the two things that it will change -- you will see less caution flags and I think it will affect fuel mileage just for the fact that you can't count on somebody getting stuck in the sand trap anymore.

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-- CLINT BOWYER

In last year's Cup race at the 2.45-mile road course, Jeff Gordon and Sam Hornish Jr. had a violent crash in Turn 7 as Kasey Kahne got together with the No. 77 of Hornish, causing Hornish to slide through the grass and slam into a tire barrier. The impact was strong enough to push Hornish back onto the track, and in the path of Gordon, who not only hit Hornish, but crashed headfirst into the guardrail. Jeff Burton, Andy Lally and Joey Logano were also involved.

That crash, along with one Jason Leffler had in the same location during a Nationwide practice earlier in the weekend, forced Watkins Glen officials to take a look at Turn 7 and see what could be done to make the racing safer.

Those changes in Turn 7 included removing the grass and extending the pavement, and adding a SAFER barrier to the front of the current guardrail system.

"It is amazing to see what they have done around this race track," Greg Biffle said following Friday's practice. "It is so nice to see a race track respond so quickly to what appeared to be a pretty bad accident last race. They have done a fantastic job with this race track.

"I think it is going to be a fun race and they definitely made it a lot safer. I keep saying that it is hard to drive these cars in the grass. It makes it real difficult when it is next to the edge of the race track and you can't get off in that area. This is a huge improvement for this race track."

Stewart was equally impressed with the quick work done in an effort to make the race as safe as possible.

"It's nice knowing that they addressed the issue that we had last year here. Obviously, we had a big, big wreck here last year," Stewart said. "They not only addressed that area, but they addressed a couple other areas on the race track too. Definitely give them credit for making the changes."

Those other changes include eliminating gravel traps and adding SAFER barriers in the inner loop; and replacing grass with pavement in Turn 5 along with modifying the current guardrail in Turn 5 with a crash attenuator system, used to help absorb the impact from a crashing car.

Eliminating the grass and sand traps was a popular decision among the Cup drivers.

"That's probably good," Clint Bowyer said. "I think the two things that it will change -- you will see less caution flags and I think it will affect fuel mileage just for the fact that you can't count on somebody getting stuck in the sand trap anymore. The fuel mileage gambling is going to be a lot different than what it was in the past just for the fact that you're not going to have those cars getting stuck.

"In my mind, that's the biggest thing that will change and kudos to Watkins Glen for changing the race track and upgrading their stuff. There should be like a big star next to their name because all the race tracks should take note and upgrade something all the time. There is always something they can make better."

Burton participated in a tire test at Watkins Glen earlier this season and he said he was "really impressed" with the changes.

"The sand traps are great ideas in the event of brake failures or something like that, but where the inner loop was, it's much more appropriate to have a run off with SAFER barriers.

"They made a lot of improvements trying to make the race track safer and to prevent what happened last year as well as look at areas of the race track that could improve the quality of racing and be productive for safety. I think what they've done is really good."

The true test of whether or not the safety upgrades are a success will come Saturday and Sunday afternoon. But the fact the track saw an issue and corrected it immediately gave the drivers a sense of security that this track is looking out for those behind the wheel.

"We've been racing here a long time and we've been racing with the stuff we had up to this point," Stewart said. "It's nice when you go back to a facility and you know they've made it safer than it was the last time you were there."

Related:
• Video: Big wreck at The Glen
• Crash takes toll on Gordon's back