Indy 500 lands another driver, confirming a 2024 Bump Day

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing confirmed a fourth entry for the second consecutive Indy 500. Set to join them for the 108th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is Takuma Sato, who won the event with the team in 2020 to become a two-time winner after winning it with Andretti Autosport in 2017.

Sato is set to join a lineup that consists of Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, and Pietro Fittipaldi for this year's 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.

The 47-year-old Japanese IndyCar driver has competed in 14 Indy 500s, including five with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Indy 500 Bump Day confirmed

Sato's No. 75 Honda is the 34th confirmed car on the entry list, ensuring that there will be bumping for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last seven years. There were 34 cars on the entry list last year, and it was Rahal who ended up being bumped out by then-teammate Jack Harvey as the clock struck 0:00 on Bump Day.

Two of this year's 34 confirmed entries do not yet have confirmed drivers. Those cars are Dale Coyne Racing's two cars, as they have yet to announce any drivers for the 2024 season after David Malukas left to join Arrow McLaren and Sting Ray Robb left to join A.J. Foyt Enterprises.

The belief is that the Indy 500 entry list is not done growing, with Abel Motorsports expected to return with the No. 50 Chevrolet for R.C. Enerson and possibly even field a second entry. A.J. Foyt Enterprises, which are set to run the No. 41 Chevrolet for Robb and the No. 14 Chevrolet for last year's third place finisher Santino Ferrucci, may also add an entry.

The Indy 500 most recently saw 35 drivers vying to be a part of the field of 33 in 2021. The entry list most recently saw 36 drivers vying to be a part of the race in 2019, when two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso and McLaren were infamously bumped out by Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing.

There has not been an Indy 500 entry list with more than 36 cars since 2011, when eight drivers were left on the outside looking in.

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