For the third separate stint of his 15-year IndyCar career, Takuma Sato will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan ― but only for the Indianapolis 500, as the 47-year-old Japanese driver continues his pursuit of a third Borg-Warner trophy.

Sato, a two-time winner of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing who grabbed his most recent IndyCar and 500 win with RLL in 2020, gives May's field 32 confirmed drivers for 34 confirmed entries, signaling the official return of Bump Day to qualifying weekend.

Sato raced a full IndyCar schedule for 13 years starting in 2010, but drove an oval-only IndyCar schedule with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. Once rumored to be in contention for one of Dale Coyne Racing's two available full-time rides, Sato instead likely both closes the loop for RLL, in terms of May 2024 entries, as well as Honda. The engine maker will have 18 in the field after DCR unveils its 2024 plans.

Sato spent four seasons with RLL (2018-21), marking the most successful stretch of his IndyCar career with four of his six wins. Including his first run with the team in 2012, Sato has logged 10 of his 14 career podiums and three of his 10 poles with RLL. His 220 career IndyCar starts rank sixth among active drivers and 22nd all-time.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to make my return to the 108th Indy 500 with (RLL). A heartfelt 'thank you' to Bobby (Rahal), Mike (Lanigan) and David (Letterman) and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity," Sato said in a release. "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 joins full-time teammates Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Pietro Fittipaldi, as well as RLL reserve driver Juri Vips, who team owner Bobby Rahal said last fall could play into the team's hopes of running a part-time fourth car throughout 2024. During his oval-only stint with CGR a year ago, Sato qualified 8th for the 500 and finished 7th. RLL's best 500 finish Jack Harvey in 18th, capping a difficult month where Harvey, no longer with the team, bumped Graham Rahal from the race.

Over the final two-thirds of the season, RLL picked up its first win as a team since Sato's 2020 500 (Lundgaard at Toronto) to go with four total poles on the year and Lundgaard's 8th-place finish in points.

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"We're very pleased to welcome back Takuma to the team," the elder Rahal said. "We obviously had a great deal of success together, and as I've said many times, Takuma's spirit is something that motivates not only me and the entire team, but also his fans.

"We're looking forward to his contributions and having a successful Indy 500."

Outside the expected 27 full-time entries for this season, Sato joins a 500 one-off group that includes Marco Andretti (Andretti Global), Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing), Christian Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing), Kyle Larson (Arrow McLaren) and Conor Daly and Ryan Hunter-Reay (both Dreyer and Reinbold Racing).

In addition to DCR's eventual two-car lineup, Abel Motorsports has said it's pushing toward a return to the 500 with RC Enerson, who the team made its IndyCar debut with last May.

AJ Foyt is rumored to have mulled over running a third car of the 500, despite the team pledging in January not to run a third car this season. Even without them, the field seems almost certain to reach 35, meaning the eventuality of two cars getting bumped during the Last Chance Qualifier session May 19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500: Takuma Sato returns to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing