Indy 500 driver announcement puts everyone at risk in 2024

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced Thursday that Takuma Sato is set to return to the team and pilot the No. 75 Honda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May in an attempt to win the Indy 500 for the third time.

Sato won his second Indy 500 driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2020. His other win came in 2017 with Andretti Autosport.

The 47-year-old Japanese IndyCar driver has made 14 Indy 500 starts, including five with Bobby Rahal's team. He most recently competed for the team in 2021 before making starts with Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing in 2022 and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023.

Sato is the 32nd confirmed driver on the entry list for the 108th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", and his No. 75 Honda is the 34th confirmed car. With the field size capped at 33, this announcement ensures bumping for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last seven years.

With more than 33 cars on the entry list, nobody is locked into the race.

The only two confirmed entries without confirmed drivers thus far are Dale Coyne Racing's two Hondas, as David Malukas left for Arrow McLaren and Sting Ray Robb left for A.J. Foyt Enterprises after last year.

There could still be as many as three more cars added to the entry list by the time the month of May rolls around.

108th Indy 500: Updated entry list

NOTE: (R) means Indy 500 rookie, not necessarily IndyCar rookie

A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
No. 14 - Santino Ferrucci
No. 41 - Sting Ray Robb

Andretti Global, Honda
No. 26 - Colton Herta
No. 27 - Kyle Kirkwood
No. 28 - Marcus Ericsson
No. 98 - Marco Andretti

Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet
No. 5 - Pato O'Ward
No. 6 - David Malukas
No. 7 - Alexander Rossi
No. 17 - Kyle Larson (R) (McLaren-Hendrick)

Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
No. 4 - Kyffin Simpson (R)
No. 8 - Linus Lundqvist (R)
No. 9 - Scott Dixon
No. 10 - Alex Palou
No. 11 - Marcus Armstrong (R)

Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
No. 18 - TBD
No. TBD - TBD

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet
No. 23 - Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 24 - Conor Daly

Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
No. 20 - Ed Carpenter
No. 21 - Rinus VeeKay
No. TBD - Christian Rasmussen (R)

Juncos Hollinger Racing, Chevrolet
No. 77 - Romain Grosjean
No. 78 - Agustin Canapino

Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
No. 06 - Helio Castroneves
No. 60 - Felix Rosenqvist
No. 66 - Tom Blomqvist (R)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
No. 15 - Graham Rahal
No. 30 - Pietro Fittipaldi
No. 45 - Christian Lundgaard
No. 75 - Takuma Sato

Team Penske, Chevrolet
No. 2 - Josef Newgarden
No. 3 - Scott McLaughlin
No. 12 - Will Power

Qualifying for the 108th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, and the race itself is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 26.