The Juncos team agreed to provide IndyStar with behind the scenes access for Indianapolis 500 qualifying last Thursday. Friday, Kyle Kaiser wrecked. But Juncos still welcomed us in and the result is an exclusive look at the weekend's most incredible story.

INDIANAPOLIS — Ricardo Juncos is running down the track. Literally running. He's trying to walk, but it keeps turning into a trot and then a run. He has to get to that lime green and mandarin orange car. That newly built, sponsor-less Chevrolet that never should have done what it just did.

He has to get to that car, his car, and its driver Kyle Kaiser.

People are trying to slow him down with their high-fives and hugs. Juncos just shakes his head and smiles. Can this really be happening?

"Unbelievable," the stunned announcers are saying over the loud speakers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Juncos makes it to Kaiser, who is stepping out of his No. 32 car. Team manager Tom Vigne gets the first hug though, one that says, "Thank you, all of this sweat and tears were worth it."

The crew starts wheeling the car back to the garage, like proud hunters with their prey in tow. Jeff Kaiser is on the phone in tears, telling someone this amazing news about his son.

Kyle Kaiser didn't know if he'd made it after that fourth qualifying lap. He tried to make a call to ask. When all he heard was screaming, Kaiser knew.

He had knocked out two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for the 103rd Indianapolis 500. A mere .019 mph separated their speed times on the final run of the Last Row Shootout Sunday. That's the blink of an eye.

"I hate to be the one that bumped him," Kyle Kaiser said. "That's racing. This is Indy. Anybody can get bumped. Nobody is safe. Anything can happen."

Anything can happen. And, it seems, all of it happened to Kaiser.

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Day 1 of the saga: A major setback

Jeff Kaiser saw the wreck on television. It happened in an instant. It was violent. And then what happened next took an eternity.

"There was just no movement," Jeff Kaiser said of his son after his car crashed during the early stages of Fast Friday practice. "And they kept going back and forth to the actual crash and I was just waiting...."

NBC IndyCar analyst Paul Tracy said he saw Kaiser raise his hand up.

"Well, I didn't see it," said Jeff Kaiser. "I was waiting for something. It seemed like forever."

Something to say everything was OK. A call came in from Abby Carter, the Juncos Racing team's public relations and logistics manager. "Jeff, he's OK. He's going to be OK."

It was sad what happened, said Jeff Kaiser. The car totaled, the car the team was sure had a shot at qualifying. It had finished 21st on Tuesday's speed charts at 226.410 mph.

“I was happy with how the car felt," Kaiser said Tuesday. “It felt very similar to last year, and last year we had a lot of pace, so I think it's all feeling really positive going into the rest of the week.”

This car was built with all the best parts, said crew chief Rich Jones, a car built specifically for IMS, for the Indianapolis 500.

"It was a great car that we had. Super fast, super consistent, great all week," he said. "No drag, super free, friction-reduced parts."

After the wreck, all that was left of that car was the engine and right rear suspension.

It was time to start from scratch. And there was almost no time.

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All nighter

The Juncos crew who had started at the track at 8 a.m. Friday would not be going home to sleep before qualifying the next day. Saturday's start time was 11:15 a.m. They had less than 24 hours to build a completely new car.

"So many people were in the garage, there was so much going on, 20-plus guys working and thrashing," said the team's Turn 1 spotter Greg Wattles.

Spotter Todd Fields stayed until 3 a.m. to do whatever he could.

"You kind of hang around the sport long enough and, while you're not maybe turning the wrench, you're there to help," said Fields. "The team chemistry is the key when things like this happen."

Carter made a late night run to Target to get toothbrushes and deodorant for all the overnight workers. Other IndyCar teams were loaning Juncos parts and delivering food. So many people were reaching out.

They may have been Kaiser's competitors but this could have just as easily happened to them.

By the light of day Saturday, sitting on this new car in line by the garages waiting for the team's turn to qualify, Jones talked about the uncanny story of this car.

"Hundreds and thousands of man hours of labor were crammed into a night," he said. "We just put our heads down and got the work done."

All that work gave Kaiser a chance to practice in his new car, which wasn't near as slippery and fast as his original.

"The car is feeling pretty good. The balance felt good. I think there are some things that could be freer," Kaiser said after practice. "There is a little more drag on this car just because it didn't have all the preparation the other car had. But it would be a little hard to expect the same results we were getting from the other car."

But that was the expectation. And it was a lofty one.

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Day 2 of the saga: Three tries

Danielle Juncos, vice president of the team and wife of owner Ricardo, is sitting on the short concrete wall by the pits. Kaiser is just minutes from his first run at qualifying.

"Nervous," she said, when asked how things were going.

A man walks up. "You guys are quiet," he says to the crew.

"Let's be honest," says Carter. "Nobody can think at this point."

The team is running on zero sleep for 30 hours.

Leandro Juncos, 13, son of Ricardo and Danielle, tells his wish for the day.

"After the incident, just to qualify would be great," he said.

It's 2:06 p.m. Kaiser revs the car. At 2:07 p.m., he takes off. The car makes it 10 feet and stalls.

The crowd lets out a groan mixed with a sigh, as if to say, how can this be happening to this poor guy? Can't this guy get a break?

Kaiser starts the car again. The race official gives the team a hand slash across the throat signal. No you don't get to start again. He motions them to the back of the line.

As Kaiser waits for his second, first qualifying attempt, Vigne seems to sense his disappointment. He leans down close to talk to him.

Kaiser shakes his head, not in a gruff, this is your fault way. In a, "I'm sorry, this is my fault" way. Vigne pats the top of his helmet three times.

When Kaiser steps on the gas, the car speeds away. The crowd claps. Who can't cheer for an underdog. First lap, 227.104 miles hour. Second, 226.407. Third, 226.059. Fourth, 224.123. The average 225.918 average isn't fast enough to qualify.

More tweaks to the car. Two more attempts to qualify. Both of those end with early yellow flags. This car just isn't fast enough.

But, this is Kaiser. This is Juncos. This isn't over.

Day 3 of the Saga

It's noon on Sunday and Ricardo Juncos is feeling confident in Kaiser's final attempt to make it into the field of 33 in the Indianapolis 500, despite the failed attempts Saturday.

"We didn't have enough time to make this car as good as possible for qualifying (Saturday)," he said. "It was lacking in speed compared to the car we crashed."

One day to build a car wasn't enough.

But his crew worked into the night again after the failed qualifying attempts Saturday, got a few hours sleep and were back up early Sunday. As the rain delayed the Last-Row Shootout on Sunday until 4:30 p.m., the crew continued to work on the car.

"It's not going ever to be the same," Juncos said. "We are going to try our best to be in the race and if it's not, it's not. It's part of the game."

Juncos knows his team faced so many hurdles on this journey. To qualify would be the win. But the true win, he said, had already happened.

"Our team came together and turned a car around," he said. "That speaks of the team for me. That is a victory already."

'Unbelievable'

The track temperature was 89. The air 73. Kaiser is standing next to the concrete wall in the pits. His dad walks up and gives him a hug. This is it.

This is it.

Juncos was the only one of the six teams competing for the final three spots not to take a practice run before the rain came. Kaiser takes off for his final qualifying attempt. His warmup lap speed is one of hope, 220 mph. He needs to beat a 227.353 mph average to fight his way into the field.

"This team operating on a shoestring budget," the announcer says as Kaiser whizzes around the track. "They've had several sponsors come together to make it possible for the car to be out there, for Kyle to be on this qualification run. He's got a big job ahead of him though."

Lap 1: 227.720

"Oh, but he's got to put three more good laps together," the speakers blare. "And that's a major challenge for this young driver who is also coming from the Indy Lights Series. Kyle Kaiser soon will know his second lap speed ... to see if he made it into the Indianapolis 500."

Lap 2: 227.420

"Two more laps, two very important laps and you've got to keep your foot to the floor and hit your mark every single time...Or you may be on the outside looking in," the voice booms as Kaiser runs. "But right now, he's on the inside looking out."

Lap 3: 227.239

"One more lap to go. Barely fast enough to bump Alonso. Just barely fast enough," the announcer says. "Will he be in? Will he be out?"

Lap 4: 227.109

Kaiser is in with an average speed of 227.372. The crowd erupts. That's when Juncos starts running down the track. He finds Kaiser and embraces him.

"This is the definition of a roller coaster ride here," Kaiser says beaming as his car is rolled off the track. "Building from (where we came from) has been a massive uphill battle. This just shows what this place is about. Nobody is safe no matter what your budget, what your resources are. It takes heart. We gave it all we had."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via e-mail: dbenbow@indystar.com.