Petaluma native Terran Swanson part of Indy 500-winning pit crew

Terran Swanson has always had a profound love of cars.

From watching his father, Brian, race vintage cars at Sonoma Raceway while growing up to working his first job as a parts washer at an auto shop, there was nothing that could separate the Petaluma native from the four-wheeled machines.

“I distinctly remember that I was not allowed to skip school on Friday to go to the racetrack,” Swanson recalled. “Turns out my uncle had barrel-rolled a car in the first practice session, so he came home early and was done for the weekend. So I didn’t get to see that, but later on I was going to the racetrack in pouring down rain and hanging out in the van all day.”

His life in motorsports reached new heights recently as a member of the pit crew for Alex Palou’s No. 10 car, this year’s winner of the famed Indianapolis 500.

Swanson is what is referred to as a rear-end mechanic, meaning he works on the back of Palou’s IndyCar for Chip Ganassi Racing. It’s a position he has held for the past two years, having worked his way up over five years as part of the Ganassi team.

But on Memorial Day weekend, Swanson was front and center for the No. 10 crew, working on the front right tire during pit stops. He was also responsible for guiding the car into the pit lane and sending it out once the crew is finished.

But Swanson, who now resides in Indianapolis, said being part of that city’s namesake racing circuit wasn’t a goal growing up.

“Funny enough, IndyCar wasn’t necessarily a dream,” Swanson said. “It was something I knew existed but never really followed it. What was the big passion was working on historic cars and club racing. There wasn’t a focus on IndyCar; I just wanted to work with race cars, that was the thought.”

Growing up on the east side of Petaluma and attending Casa Grande High School, Swanson’s first motorsports gig took him to Veloce Motors West on Petaluma Boulevard North. It was a job he took after graduation, washing car parts for about three years.

While working for Veloce, he attended Santa Rosa Junior College before moving out to Indiana to attend Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, now known as IU Indianapolis. The school was one of the only few that offered a Bachelor of Science degree in motorsports engineering.

After school, Swanson stayed in Indianapolis and got a job with Ganassi a few years later. Fast forward five years, and he was standing up on the pit wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 25, watching Palou cross the finish line first despite a late caution.

“It is very much as people say — it’s a fleeting moment,” Swanson said of seeing Palou take the checkered flag. “It happens that quick, and then a few hours later the adrenaline wears off and you’re like, ‘I can’t believe this is real.’”

So what comes next after helping a driver to one of the biggest trophies in motorsports? Swanson said one of his goals is to continue to move up and eventually become a car chief. The big goal, he noted, is to become an Indy 500-winning car chief.

And his family back in Petaluma will be watching.

“I’m super proud,” Brian Swanson said of his son. “He’s doing a really good job, and it’s cool to see him following something that he loves to do.”

Terran tries to get back to Petaluma once or twice a year, and when he does he and his dad will race their vintage Formula Ford vehicles. In Indianapolis, Terran has a go-kart that he takes out as much as he can.

Clearly, his early desire to race is still there — when he’s not part of winning the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @kodoherty22.