Kaiser knocks Alonso, McLaren out of Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS — Fernando Alonso did everything in his power to put McLaren in the Indianapolis 500. He drove flatout when his car was loose, when it wouldn’t steer and when it had a punctured tire.

When his team put together a desperate final setup and no one had a clue how it would perform, he charged wide-open into the first turn at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with zero fear.

His effort could not overcome the mistakes made by McLaren in its hyped return to the Indy 500. Alonso was bumped from the field by 23-year-old Kyle Kaiser in a dramatic last-gasp bid by tiny Juncos Racing. McLaren came to Indy with every inch of its car sold in sponsorship and guaranteed to turn a profit. Juncos Racing lost its two primary sponsors right before opening day and spent most of this week in an unmarked white car.

Juncos was the underdog from the very start, and when Kaiser crashed Friday and destroyed the car, every one of Ricardo Junco’s employees worked through the night to put together a car for Kaiser to qualify.