September 19, 2004 Tragedy at Hendry County Speedway By Jack Smith Steve Medinger, the 42 year old owner of Hendry County Speedway, died Saturday night September 18 at the track. Medinger, while racing in the street stock class 20 lap feature, appeared to go into turn three with the throttle wide open, hit the wall between turns three and four with the right front bumper of his race car. According to the Hendry County Speedway flagman Don VanAcker, "the motor never changed sound to me and he drove straight on into the wall." The EMTs, according to VanAcker arrived at the car within a few seconds and found Medinger unconscious, with a faint pulse. County rescue staff was called to the track and the driver was subsequently transported by ambulance to a local area hospital where he was pronouced dead. An autopsy is expected to be done today or Monday to determine exact cause of death. Medinger, a Naples Florida resident, had taken over the speedway this year and was working hard to get the facility built up. "The man worked from sunup to sundown, and then come out there and worked on that race track", Vanacker stated. Hendry County Speedway is located in Clewiston, Florida, at the southern tip of Lake Okeechobee and normally runs on Saturday night. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!