SONOMA, Calif. – Tyler Clary’s long-term goal is to race on land.

So receiving a guided tour of the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing garage from IZOD IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden whetted the ambitions of the London Olympics swimming gold medalist.

Clary is among the Olympic medalists and California residents attending the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma race weekend. Also attending is two-time Olympic rowing gold medalist Erin Cafaro and swimmer Dana Vollmer.

The medalists will join grand marshal Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento and former NBA star, in giving the command to start engines.

Clary, 23, of Riverside, Calif., has been to several races at Auto Club Speedway in nearby Fontana and attended the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. He plans to participate in the Skip Barber Racing School, which could put him on the Mazda Road to Indy through the Skip Barber INDYCAR Academy. He watched practice and qualifications from pit lane.

“I think it’s awesome that in IndyCar versus other worldwide series that it’s the same car and it’s really drivers and teams that make the difference,” said Clary, who met several other IZOD IndyCar Series drivers. “It’s interesting to see how the whole dynamic works. It’s different from swimming in that you have to rely on your team and your equipment and then it’s the driver to show what they really have. Everything is so interconnected I think it makes racing so much more rewarding.

“My passions are swimming and cars. It’s in my blood. I love to swim fast and race cars fast.”

Cafaro, a resident of Marin, Calif., entered the record book in London, along with her teammates, as the first female team in the history of USRowing to score back-to-back Olympic gold medals. They are also seven-time world champions and undefeated since 2006.

Vollmer, who along with Carafo is a Cal graduate (as is the Raceway at Sonoma president and general manager Steve Page), set the world record on her way to winning the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly and won gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay and 4x200-meter freestyle relay in London. She won her first gold medal at the 2004 Games.

Bonus note: The curbing at Sonoma is painted blue and gold in tribute to Cal.