High school students in one Florida county will literally cross the finish line on their high-school years when they receive their diplomas on the finish line at Daytona International Speedway.
Meanwhile, students in a Texas county will fittingly celebrate their graduation in victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway, with family members watching from their cars in the infield as the moment is broadcast on the track’s massive video board.
With schools scrambling to plan graduation ceremonies during the coronavirus pandemic, the two race tracks are using their size as an advantage in these days of social distancing.
Two Flagler County, Florida, high schools will hold ceremonies at Daytona on May 31, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
The plan, first conceived of by track president Chip Wile, will see each family and graduate allowed one car and no one can exit the vehicle. The graduate will receive their diploma after the car crosses the finish line before they circle the track for a victory lap. The graduation will be simulcast over the radio inside the track and will also be live-streamed on the school district’s website.
Hunter Perez, a senior at Matanzas High, said the students he’s talked with are grateful for the opportunity to avoid a virtual ceremony that would have had everyone graduating separately.
“This is something we’re gonna remember forever,” Perez told the News-Journal. “This is one for the history books.”
In Texas, students from 23 high schools will have their graduations at the track and Eddie Gossage, the track’s president and general manager, told The Dallas Morning News more schools may also choose to utilize the facility.
Graduates will sit in chairs on pit row that are spaced to allow for social distancing before walking to victory lane to receive their diplomas, according to the Morning News. Family members will be watching via the track’s 12-story high-definition screen known as “Big Hoss” with the ceremony also being live-streamed.
Kayla Rios, student body president at Lewisville High, told the Morning News she’s grateful to graduate with her classmates and in front of her family.
“I’m definitely excited because I think this is definitely going to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing to be able to graduate at Texas Motor Speedway,” she said.