Takuma Sato Returns for 2025 Indy 500

The early part of the IndyCar season always comes with hype for the Indianapolis 500 simmering in the background, but Tuesday’s news took things to a higher level as Takuma Sato, the first and currently only Asian driver to win the 500, confirmed his return to the Speedway with Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

“We are excited to have Takuma part of our Indy 500 program again,” said team co-owner and co-founder Bobby Rahal in an official IndyCar press release. “His experience, talent and bravado at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in particular, is evident by his two wins. The work ethic he brings, in addition to his attention to detail, adds immeasurable value to our program.”

This marks Sato’s sixteenth consecutive Indy 500, second in a row in the RLL #75 car, and sixth overall with the team. At last year’s 500, his lone appearance of the season was one of the team’s best results on ovals all season, qualifying 10th and finishing 14th, sandwiched between teammates Christian Lundgaard and Graham Rahal. Given how completely the team’s oval setups collapsed over the rest of the 2024, Sato will provide essential lessons on how to improve, not to mention plenty of Honda cash and veteran wiles.

Most importantly, Sato represents a steady hand and reliable threat to win the 500 at a point where RLL’s lineup is in flux. With previous leading man Lundgaard now driving for McLaren, family scion Graham Rahal not as successful as he once was, and Indy NXT champion Louis Foster still adjusting to the big leagues, the team’s ace isn’t so easy to pin down at the moment, and having Sato around lets them cover for that at the year’s biggest race while they figure things out and see if Foster can translate his winning ways to the top flight.

However, the biggest impact of Sato’s return goes far beyond his actual team. With this confirmation, we now have 34 Indy 500 entries, the magic number for Bump Day drama. Every driver who moves into a trailer at the Speedway for the month will do so knowing they have to earn their spot on track, and it’ll make qualifying must-see TV.

If the rumor mill is anything to go by, Sato won’t be the last driver confirmed for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, so whenever the 35th entry throws their hat in the ring, we’ll be here at the Afterburn to tell you all about it.