Jimmy Watts, the gas man for Ambrose's crew, begins his suspension with Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Watts was also placed on probation through the end of the year, as was crew chief Frank Kerr, who NASCAR deemed responsible for the actions of the team.
"It was a disaster and I think the penalty is a good one," Ambrose said Wednesday during a break in Goodyear tire testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"You can't have guys running on pit lane. You can't have guys running up to the race track surface. It's just not the thing to do. He needs to be an example for others not to do the same, and I think it's a good decision all around."
Watts chased a rolling tire across pit road and into the infield grass when it got away from Ambrose's stall during a round of green-flag stops 67 laps into the March 8 race at Atlanta. NASCAR called a caution and the action put more than half the field at least one lap down.
NASCAR officials have indicated that because the tire came to a stop, they likely would have waited until the pit stops had cycled through to call the caution. But because Watts was dangerously close to the racing surface, where cars were passing by at nearly 200 mph, NASCAR had to throw the yellow flag.
Most drivers caught a lap down never recovered, and there were just 12 cars on the lead lap when winner Kurt Busch crossed the finish line.
Watts, who works full-time as a firefighter for the Charlotte Fire Department, has yet to publicly comment about the incident except for a statement issued through JTG Daughtery Racing that apologized for his actions.
"To go after the tire was a quick reaction and obviously the wrong decision," he said in the statement.
Ambrose, a rookie in the Sprint Cup Series, echoed Watts' sentiment.
"Jimmy, he's a great guy, he went on instinct and you can't blame the guy for that," Ambrose said. "He just went on a reaction and it was the wrong reaction."
Ambrose said he wasn't sure what had happened as he passed pit road under caution, but knew it involved his team because of all the flashbulbs he saw going off in his pit box from photographers taking Watts' picture.
"I could tell it was bad," he said. "I didn't know if we ran over somebody or our tire rolled into someone else's pit lane."
He was glad NASCAR chose not to deduct any points or issue a monetary fine against the team. He heads into Bristol ranked 28th in owners points with an 84-point margin over 36th place. Beginning next week at Martinsville Speedway, all drivers ranked inside the top 35 are guaranteed a starting spot each week.
"We are a brand new team and we're doing everything we can to try to lock ourselves into (the top 35) and use all our money to survive out there," he said. "We don't have money to waste."
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