SPEEDWAY — In a year when high schools across the state and country have struggled with a way to hold commencement exercises that meet COVID-19 restrictions, Speedway High School has come up with perhaps the most unique answer.
The Class of 2020 will head one-mile east to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where each graduate will receive their diploma at the fabled Yard of Bricks.
Speedway High School Principal Luke Zartman says the festivities will begin Saturday at 12:10 p.m. from the school's parking lot. Vehicles will drive through town before entering the track. For those who want to see the procession, here is the route:
- Exit the Speedway High School parking lot from the east entrance.
- Turn right (southbound) on N. Lynhurst Drive.
- Turn left (eastbound) on Crawfordsville Road.
- Turn right (southbound) on Main Street.
- Turn left (eastbound) on W 10th Street.
- Turn left (northbound) on Polco Street.
- Turn right (eastbound) on W 16th Street.
- Turn left (northbound) into IMS Gate 2.
Each graduate and their family will be in one vehicle and will drive down the front stretch entering Gasoline Alley and stopping at the Yard of Bricks. The graduate family will exit the vehicle, the student's name will be called and he or she will walk across the Yard of Bricks to retrieve their diploma from a table.
The graduate will pose for a picture at the table and will then proceed to a race car where they will have a picture taken with their family. The graduate and their family will then get back in their vehicle and exit down the front stretch through Gasoline Alley, exiting via the road course.
Speedway schools, like those across the state, shut down in mid-March over COVID-19 concerns. Now, the class of 2020 will be together one last time in a setting graduates will not forget.
