Yes, it has been a little stricter this year. They try to walk around and tech everyone right now because the tech stickers are not in. They said you can get tech for the year which will take 30-45 minutes to go over the car front to back or on a 3 month period which is the standard look around to make sure things look right.
The pavement makes the place look larger then it already is. It was always overwhelming to be on the starting line and look down track, but all the new additions make it more impressive.