One of the more interesting incidents at Auto Club Speedway was not something that happened on the track, but in the garage.

When Dave Blaney pulled the No. 66 Toyota, owned by notorious start-and-park team Prism Motorsports, off the track and into the garage after only 43 laps of the scheduled 250, it was really no surprise to anyone.

The surprise was for Blaney and the Prism Motorsports team because NASCAR officials were ready and waiting to confiscate the car as part of the normal post-race inspection which allows the sanctioning body to inspect a random car each week.

Blaney had gained attention this past weekend in California when he not only qualified for Sunday’s race in the un-sponsored Camry but he qualified an incredible 5th. He also led three laps during the Auto Club 500 before citing engine failure as the reason for his premature exit from the event.

The other Prism Motorsports car, driven by Michael McDowell, raced three laps less than Blaney and also pulled into the garage with a reported engine failure.

Is this an attempt by NASCAR to subdue the teams trying to make a pay check without running the full event? Possibly, but will we ever know for sure? Probably not.

There is speculation that the team was targeted due to the fact that it fields not one but two start-and-park entries. However, the team only managed to qualify one car for the Daytona 500 and McDowell powered it through 195 of the 200 laps in the Great American Race. Certainly not typical of a start-and-park venture.

Sprint Cup Series director John Darby reportedly said he hopes to inspect the car at Las Vegas to save time so it does not have to be sent all the way back to North Carolina before being taken back to the west coast for next weekend’s race. However, the crew chief for the No. 66 was reportedly told that the car would not be returned to the team until next Saturday, too late to qualify for Sunday’s race and the team claims they do not have the spare parts to put into a backup car for qualifying.

McDowell earned $267,495 in the Daytona 500. Seems like they would have at least some left over that could go towards parts.

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