Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will attempt to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 in the team’s #75 entry.

Sato has contested every Indy 500 since 2010, including the past couple seasons as he has wound down his full time IndyCar career.

He continues to race in the biggest event on the calendar, and will do so again this year in an attempt to qualify for his 16th race.

“I’m very excited to return to the 109th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Sato.

“Once again, a heartfelt thank you to Bobby [Rahal], Mike [Lanigan], David [Letterman], and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity. I’m also deeply grateful for the continued support from AMADA as the primary sponsor, alongside Panasonic Automotive Systems, Niterra, Deloitte Tohmatsu, NAC, Honda, HRC, and all our loyal sponsors.

“The new #75 car carries over RLL’s historic design with a refreshed and dynamic new livery – it looks absolutely stunning.

“Last year was an incredible experience, reconnecting with the team, and this year, even more familiar faces have joined the effort, which makes this moment even more special and gives me great confidence. I can’t wait to get to work.”

Sato has won the Indy 500 twice, once with Andretti Autosport in 2017 and a second time in 2020 while driving for RLL.

This year will be the seventh time the veteran Japanese driver has raced the famous race with RLL and the odds of him picking up a third win look good, but for the latest odds, fans should look on sport betting VulkanSpiele for great deals.

The 48-year-old will have backing from Amada America, and his car will look similar to last year’s livery which he took to a 14th place result.

Sato’s entry makes for 34 confirmed entries for this year’s Indy 500, which means that qualifying bumping will take place once again.

The added drama brings an extra level of entertainment to qualifying weekend, during which one driver will be sent home without having a chance to start the race.

The 109th Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 25, with television coverage being provided by FOX.

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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will drive for the team in the upcoming Indianapolis 500.

Sato will climb behind the wheel of the #75 entry, which will be the fourth RLL car competing in the Indy 500, and will be sponsored by AMADA.

The veteran Japanese driver has raced with RLL for five seasons in the past, including in 2020 when he earned his second Indianapolis 500 victory.

His return gives RLL four cars for the marquee event, matching the expanded total the team brought to the event in 2023.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to make my return to the 108th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Sato in the press release.

“A heartfelt thank you to Bobby [Rahal], Mike [Lanigan], and David [Letterman] and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity. Gratitude overflows as I am driving the No. 75 entry with primary sponsorship from AMADA.

“My journey with RLL spans over a decade marked by shared successes and rejoining the team fills me with immense excitement. Here’s to reconnecting with familiar faces and forging new alliances. I just can’t wait to get to work.”

Sato’s confirmation means that he will be back to contest in his 15th IndyCar season, and will appear in his 15th Indy 500, assuming he is able to qualify well enough to make the field.

After the longtime racer shifted to a partial schedule last season, it was not known if the 47-year-old would be back in the series for 2024.

He will indeed make his 221st career IndyCar start, however, reunited with the team he has worked with the longest.

The 108th Indianapolis 500 will be run on May 26, with two weeks of practice and qualifying leading up to the spectacle.

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Marcus Armstrong is running this season’s road and street courses for Chip Ganassi Racing, driving as the lone rookie in the team’s powerful four-driver lineup.

Despite not running the four ovals contested so far this year, he still leads IndyCar’s rookie points standings and is hopeful that he can stay there for the remainder of the season.

Armstrong is beginning to be asked more frequently what his plans are for next year, and if he will be running the full schedule.

The 23-year-old Kiwi is certainly warming up to the idea of racing ovals along with the road races, and feels that his current position at CGR is one of the best places he could be to try out the new venture.

“I haven’t exactly kept it a secret, but I’d love to stay here at Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Armstrong about his future plans.

“I think I’ve been reasonably vocal about trying ovals for the first time. It would be a dream come true to compete at the Indy 500.

“At the moment my focus is on just getting good results because my own results is going to help me in the long-term. Yeah, it’s not really in my hands on the contractual side, let’s say.

“All I can do is just compete at the maximum of my ability, try and stay present, which is fairly easy seeing as though it’s going well. The team, it’s a very enjoyable environment. I feel like it’s all training in the right direction. I just have to keep pumping out some good results.”

Just before it was announced that Takuma Sato would be driving the #11 entry for the remaining oval rounds of the season, Armstrong began to talk more openly about his desire to try his hand at oval racing.

It is a discipline that he has not yet had a chance to try out on account of his European racing background, but it is one that has garnered his interest this season.

His time spent on the CGR pit box this season has also made him realize there are a lot of skills that he does not yet have that are needed to be successful on the banking.

“What I find intriguing is just how one guy can get momentum at one part of a race and just create such a pace deficit compared to everyone else,” continued Armstrong. “I’m still trying to figure out how we can manage that.

“Also, watching the way that Scott [Dixon] drives compared to everyone really in the team, there’s so many different ways to achieve the same lap time. There’s just so many styles. I feel like that’s intriguing.

“And, yeah, I think the way that everyone achieves the same lap time in totally different ways, that’s quite interesting to me. I just sort of want to experience it and understand what I feel it needs and what I feel I need to do to get the best lap time.”

There is one final oval race of the 2023 IndyCar season yet to come, and Sato will be driving the #11 Honda for that round at World Wide Technology Raceway as well.

The other four remaining races are on road and street courses, giving Armstrong plenty of opportunity to improve on his season best finish of sixth that he earned in Toronto.

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Chip Ganassi Racing has confirmed that Takuma Sato will remain in the #11 entry for the remaining oval rounds this season.

Sato was originally announced as the driver for all five of the season’s oval events, but word came as the season was getting under way that the confirmed portion of the deal only involved the races at Texas Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

Marcus Armstrong is driving the #11 for the season’s road and street races, and had shown an increasing desire to try out a short oval for the first time as the year progressed.

The 22-year-old told Motorsportweek.com at the recent event at Road America that he would be love to try out the discipline soon.

“I would love to do it,” said Armstrong. “It’s something that interests me a lot. And the decision is not mine.

“It’s entertaining and extremely challenging. It’s something that I want to learn about quickly so I can understand how to get the results. Something that I never experienced.

“The more experience you have, the better you can ultimately perform.

“A lot of European guys have done really well, like Marcus [Ericsson], Alex [Palou], and everyone really. All the lads that I’ve raced with in the past have done quite well on ovals.

“I’d be keen to do it given the opportunity.”

Even though Armstrong would have been happy to have a few more races to run this season, he will have to wait until at least the end of the year to sample the new type of track.

A Ganassi representative confirmed that the rookie could be given a change to try out an oval at a test session near the end of the season.

Sato finished 28th at Texas Motor Speedway following a crash, but earned a seventh place result at the Indy 500.

The 46-year-old will be back in the #11 next month for the doubleheader from Iowa Speedway, and then again in August for the race from World Wide Technology Raceway.

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The final Indianapolis 500 practice session took place on Friday, with the critical track time affectionately known as Carb Day.

Drivers diced and sliced throughout the two hour session, practicing for race strategies and also getting a head start on their grudges before the race even begins.

When time ran out on the session, Takuma Sato found his way to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 227.855 MPH.

The Japanese driver has been near the top of the charts for the entire Month of May, and it was no surprise to see him at the front again.

His team-mate Scott Dixon was second in line, lapping just slower on his own fastest lap, which was helped by a tow from other drivers.

Will Power slotted into the third spot, and another Chip Ganassi driver Alex Palou was fourth. Rounding out the top five was Kyle Kirkwood in the top Andretti Autosport entry.

Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay both set the mark for the most laps run, with each driver completing 89 laps and getting valuable practice under their belts.

Small, but consequential problems worked their way up and down the pit lane, with all kinds of issues cropping up that each nearly caused disaster for one of the 33 drivers.

The session started off with a caution period just as drivers left pit lane at the start of practice.

Race control noticed some fluid coming out of Marco Andretti’s #98 car as he pulled away, and wanted to make sure that it evaporated quickly rather than causing a larger issue for the rest of the field.

Ryan Hunter-Reay had a fluid leak as well later on, with a gearbox seal dripping just a bit of oil onto the back portion of his car.

He was allowed back on track because the leak was minimal, but his crew noticed that it was still leaking after further running and was forced to dive into the issue on pit road.

Katherine Legge also had a bit of trouble and had to stop her #44 RLL entry at the exit of the warm up lane after she noticed her right rear wheel was loose.

Luckily she and her team found the issue just as she left pit lane and before she got up to speed, allowing her to safely pull off to the side of the road without crashing and damaging her car for a second time within a week.

With 23 minutes remaining, Devlin DeFrancesco brought out the next stoppage of the day when he slowed on the back stretch with a flat right front tire

It appeared that the tire just lost pressure in the middle of turn 1, and the sophomore driver did a magnificent job to keep his Andretti Autosport Honda under control and out of the wall.

Even among tires that held up, multiple teams continued to suffer unexplained vibrations and blistering with their Firestones which threaten to cause real issues on race day.

The 500 mile race itself is the next time drivers will be able to take the track, with the green flag flying just after noon Eastern time on Sunday.

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Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was dedicated to going fast, and all 34 drivers were happy to oblige by setting blistering quick laps around the 2.5-mile course.

Teams were given extra turbocharger boost to simulate what they will be able to run on Saturday and Sunday for qualifying, leading to roughly 100 additional horsepower.

The entire day was spent with drivers attempting to practice their qualifying runs, which consist of finding clear space on track and setting four consecutive fast laps.

A very common occurrence throughout the day was drivers setting fast times on their first lap, then they would lose considerable pace on their third and fourth laps.

The drivers that were able to hold their pace throughout their runs were the ones that found themselves at the top of the four-lap average speed charts.

At the top of the list for the full runs was Takuma Sato, who set the best average speed of 233.414 MPH late in the afternoon.

Nearly all of the top times were set as the afternoon wore on due to an approaching cold front that brought cooler temperatures to the speedway.

Marcus Ericsson set the second fastest qualifying simulation, continuing Chip Ganassi Racing’s near domination of the Month of May so far.

Josef Newgarden and Will Power set the third and fourth on the timesheets, showing that Team Penske may not be as far off the pace as they showed throughout the week.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, however, looked way off the pace. After a strong showing at the Grand Prix last weekend, the team once again seemed to flounder in the setup department.

Katherine Legge was the fastest of the four RLL drivers, and her four-lap average was only good enough for 28th. The team has a lot of work to do overnight if they plan to qualify well this weekend.

Jack Harvey had the worst luck, as his engine was seen smoking during his final run of the day. Onboard audio gave indications that there was internal damage to the motor as well, and his crew may well be changing for a new Honda powerplant overnight.

Juncos Hollinger Racing and Callum Ilott continued to have troubles they could not track down, just as they have since they tested their speedway car during the open test last month.

There was finally acknowledgement that something needed to change other than the setup, and the team switched to a new chassis late in the afternoon.

However, he was not able to run any shakedown laps before time expired. Ilott will have to feel out his mostly new car Saturday morning, just before making his timed run.

A few drivers had close calls as they trimmed as much downforce of their cars as they could. Takuma Sato was the first driver that was seen flirting with the outside wall.

Throughout the six hour session, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta also were forced to lift in tricky moments that saw their cars wiggle precariously in the corners.

Tomorrow will see an all-day marathon qualifying session, during which all cars will be guaranteed one run. Time will permit driver to make extra attempts if they wish, after which the middle of the field will be locked in.

The weather will also be cooler, the air will be drier, the sun will be out, and the wind will be coming from the North. All factors that will throw a wrench into the team’s carefully laid plans.

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After rain washed out what would have been the opening day of Indy 500 practice on Tuesday, blue skies greeted all 34 drivers as they put in laps on Wednesday.

As soon as the green flag flew on the six hour session, the Team Penske trio were the first to hit the track in order to drive side by side for a photo opportunity across the yard of bricks.

The Penske crew has made a habit of this exact action in recent years, giving a bit of extra flourish for the team that’s owned by the same man that owns the IMS facility itself.

At the end of the lengthy practice session, which was only interrupted a few times to clean up debris, it was the two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato was what at the top of the charts.

The veteran’s best lap was completed in 39.2261 seconds and an average speed of 229.439 MPH.

Sato’s speed was quicker than last year’s fastest time from the first day of practice, a time that was set by him as well, by exactly half of a mile per hour.

Chip Ganassi Racing filled out both of the top two positions, with Scott Dixon lapping just a fraction slower than his team-mate in his #9 entry.

Dixon was at the head of the timesheets for much of the afternoon, but was bested in the final hour of running.

Santino Ferrucci put in a late lap that boosted him up to the third position, just ahead of yet another Ganassi driver Alex Palou.  Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five.

The most laps were run by Rinus VeeKay, who completed 151 circuits of the 2.5-mile oval, over three quarters of a full race distance.

The Ed Carpenter Racing trio looked really strong on the no-tow times as well, which measures laps that were put in without any drivers creating a wake in front of them.

ECR is often one of the fastest teams without a draft, and VeeKay topped that list on Wednesday, which bodes well for the solo qualifying efforts that will take place this upcoming weekend.

Unfortunately for Juncos Hollinger Racing, Callum Ilott continued to have handling troubles in his Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy.

His car had been nearly undriveable in the open test in late April, and those troubles were still present in the opening day of true Indy 500 practice.

The team was not able to nail down an exact cause of the issue, but chose to continue to make adjustments throughout the day rather than bring out the backup car too hastily.

Ilott finished the day in the 34th and final position over six miles per hour off the pace, with his rookie team-mate Agustin Canapino finishing in 22nd with a notably better handling car.

RC Enerson was given track time to himself in the morning hours to complete his Rookie Orientation Program.

He and his Abel Motorsports team flew through the progression with ease, and Enerson was able to join his compatriots for the afternoon open session. He ended the day in 33rd with plenty of data to process.

Graham Rahal had the closest call of the day when his RLL Honda drifted wide in turn 3. He admitted that it was a lapse in concentration that caused the incident, and the only damage to his car was a scuffed set of Firestone tires.

3,450 laps were completed in total, and another six-hour practice session is scheduled for Thursday.

On Friday, teams will be given extra boost in their turbochargers to allow them to simulate qualifying runs, which take place Saturday and Sunday.

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Chip Ganassi Racing has announced that it has obtained the driving services of Takuma Sato for the upcoming season, bringing him on to drive the season’s oval rounds for the team’s fourth car.

The 45-year-old Japanese driver will be paired with rookie Marcus Armstrong in the #11 entry, and will contest a partial season for the first time since joining IndyCar 13 years ago.

Rumors had been swirling that his contract with Dale Coyne Racing was not going to be renewed, despite his considerable number of personal sponsors that bring added financial support.

Sato was repeatedly praised for his sharing of knowledge with his young team-mate David Malukas throughout the 2022 season, and he will likely be equally valuable to his new rookie pairing at Ganassi.

“First of all, I would like to thank Chip [Ganassi] and Mike [Hull, Managing Director for CGR] for helping put this all together,” said Sato.

“I am extremely excited to join Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2023 season. The organization has been at the top of our sport for decades and needless to say, extremely competitive.

“Focusing on the oval races is a new chapter for me but I’m thrilled to have the ability to race with team members and teammates that have won the championships and Indianapolis 500 in the past, which is a tremendous advantage.  I just can’t wait to get started.”

Sato has been racing in the NTT IndyCar Series since 2010, moving over to the series following a seven-year career in Formula 1.

He has raced for many different teams in his time stateside, and has achieved the rare feat of winning the Indianapolis 500 on two separate occasions.

His most recent Indy 500 victory in 2020 is actually his most recent win overall, a stat that he would like to update this upcoming season.

There are five oval rounds in this year’s upcoming IndyCar season, giving the veteran a small number of opportunities to add to his total of six wins.

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During Saturday’s qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, Takuma Sato bounced his Dale Coyne Racing Honda off the wall while pushing hard out of turn 2.

Normally that would put an immediate end to the qualification attempt, but the experienced Japanese driver knew that he had to stay in the throttle at over 230 MPH if at all possible.

Sato’s earlier run had been disqualified due to impeding Marco Andretti who was preparing for his own run, and approaching rain meant this might be his only chance to set a time.

After his run, which narrowly earned him a spot in Sunday’s Fat 12 qualifying round, Sato explained what went into the decision to continue his run.

“Two things happened.  After I hit the wall or brushed the wall, shall we say, if the car starts wiggle, which means your drive train has been damaged and we should abort it.

“And also [the team] looks at the tire pressure.  If there’s any indication of weakness on the tire pressure down the back straight, then you should avoid it too because of safety reason to go to turn three.

“Neither things happened, so obviously, when I brushed the wall, there’s two choices: Whether to go flat or not.

“As I said, it’s qualifying.  I decided to go flat, and then basically it saved me in the bubble, but it was in P12.  All in all, I think it was happy.”

Images from pit lane showed the scuffs and scrapes to the side of the car after the run, which included damage to the floor as well as the side of the wheels.

By securing the 12th fastest average speed, Sato will make another run on Sunday afternoon.  If he is in the top half of that group, then he will be able to make one final run for pole.

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Fast Friday, the day when drivers preparing for the Indianapolis 500 are given extra pressure in the turbocharger and allowed to run at qualifying speeds, was noticeably less busy on account of pervasive winds all afternoon.

While averaging over 231 MPH, any wind changes can upset the car with no warning.  The 40 MPH gusts led to many drivers only completing a few laps all afternoon.

Once again, Takuma Sato was the fastest over a single lap at 232.789 MPH, and Alexander Rossi was able to clock the second fastest time of the day.

The fastest over a four-lap average, which is how qualifying times are measured for the Indy 500, was the likeable veteran Tony Kanaan with an average speed of 230.517 MPH

Santino Ferrucci was the first to brave the windy conditions when the green flag flew at noon, and the 23-year-old only completed a few laps before coming back down pit lane.

That was repeated over and over throughout the day, with drivers hitting the track to complete a qualifying simulation only to have a sketchy moment in the turns that caused them to come right back in.

Some drivers were able to complete a couple runs, but many opted to limit their running in order to save their equipment in the treacherous conditions.

The driver that had the biggest moment was Jimmie Johnson, who drifted high and brushed the wall coming out of turn 2.

Johnson was lucky to bounce off the wall without any damage other than a couple scuffed tires and scraped up floor edge, and the NASCAR legend told NBC after the run that he thought he would be able to make the exit cleanly.

“I’m just trying to understand this low downforce trim setting.  Obviously the wind is pretty massive today.

“I felt like I had the corner made, and I think that’s why I touched the wall so square.  Just late exit, the wind was to my backside, and I just needed six more inches out there and I didn’t have it.”

With the wind coming from the south all day, drivers faced a tailwind at the critical moment they were coming out of the turn to run down the backstretch.

That tailwind also pushed cars along down into the entrance of turn 3, where Conor Daly set the fastest speed trap time ever recorded of 243.724 MPH.

An odd occurrence happened unrelated to the wind, with race control systems losing power just 15 minutes into the session.  It took a full 30 minutes before power was restored, though the lost time was not a hindrance due to the lack of interest in running.

Drivers will get one more short practice session Saturday morning before jumping into qualifying at 11:00 AM Eastern Time.

Practice and Qualifying have been shifted forward a bit in order to try to beat a rain system that is forecast to roll into the area in the early afternoon.

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