Students, Start Your Engines: Faith Lutheran High School Graduates To Receive Diplomas In Cars At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

The Class of 2020 at Faith Lutheran High School will have a graduation they will never forget in less than three weeks.

In this age of the COVID-19 pandemic, 255 Faith Lutheran graduates will receive their diploma in their cars while making a lap around Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile race track May 22 at at 6:30 p.m.

Students will receive their diploma as they drive across the speedway’s finish line and will continue around the track for a one-mile victory lap before exiting the speedway. The students and their families will be able to hear the commencement address as well as remarks from the valedictorian on their car radios via the speedway’s low-power FM transmitter.

“We originally planned to have a traditional commencement at a local church but with the health and well-being of our students, faculty and students’ families in mind, having a crowd of 3,000 people in one building was not an option,” said Steve Buuck, chief executive of  Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School.

“Our seniors have worked hard this academic year,” Buuck said. “We wanted to recognize their efforts and we’re so grateful for LVMS making itself available to help provide an unforgettable graduation experience for our seniors.”

Speedway President Chris Powell said the students will have a memorable graduation at the track.

“We’re happy to show our support for the graduates of Faith Lutheran with this unique commencement opportunity,” Powell said. “While this is certainly not the ceremony they expected when the school year began, it will be memorable and one we hope they will recall fondly for years to come.”


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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.