LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a couple of months, a Kentucky high school student will graduate. Most of his high school career has been on the road racing, and not spending much time in the classroom.

What You Need To Know

  • A race car student will graduate high school because of a program that allows him to attend school remotely

  • Shelby County Public Schools offers a unique program Shelby Academy: Cultivate

  • The program that allows students to learn remotely with weekly in-person meetings

  • So far this year, the student says he's already raced more than 120 laps

That’s because Bryce Applegate is part of a unique online program offered by Shelby County Schools.

On this day, Applewood enters his classroom: a garage shop with his dashing race car.

“To be honest, it’s pretty quiet in there. I mean, you just kind of tune everything out and go, go to work pretty much,” Applegate said. Racing cars is his passion.

“So all the front stuff takes a little bit longer in the rear because a lot more moving parts up here. So it took about two weeks to pull the motor back in suspension and all that,” Applegate said.

The 18-year-old also loves building them, something he discovered at 10 years old.

“All high school I was on the road. I was, I mean, you give up being in regular school with friends and all that, but I’ve made friends at the racetrack and we meet every weekend and we have fun,” Applegate said.

He’s one of 100 students at Shelby County Public School taking part in Shelby Academy: Cultivate, a program that allows students to learn remotely with weekly in-person meetings.

“I go to online school. It’s kind of it’s the best situation for me because I travel on the road a lot. I mean, we’ve done over — since I started with Cultivate — we’ve done about over 250,000 miles or driven in over nine different states and raced all around the world,” he said. 

He credits his teacher, Caytie Burgin, who’s helped him come out of his shell.

“I was the quiet one. I was the pick the back seat in the corner, and the teacher never knew I was there. I did my work. I was good, and, I mean, I had friends, but I just never really talked in the friend group and Miss Burgin has made me do presentations and talk to their class, and just kind of brought me out of going and just letting Dad talk at sponsor meetings,” Applegate said.

“We have a lot of students that at 16 or in high school and they already have their dream career so they’re working full time and needing school in their world it is a priority, but it’s not their only priority right now,” Burgin said.

After high school, Applegate plans to go to community college in North Carolina.

“One more test and I’m done. Yes. The final, final test and I’m done for high school,” Applegate said. He’s close enough to see the finish line.

So far this year, he says he’s already raced more than 120 laps.

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