Auto Thrill Show History Timeline


	Lucky Teter also raced in the 1939 Indy 500. His family was from Noblesville Indiana along the White River. Lucky died in 1942. His parents passed in the 1960s and his sister, Ruth died in 1981. As there were no heirs to the family farm, Ruth bequeathed the property to the Methodist Church, which dedicated the 120 acre farm to her parents and it became known as the Teter Family Retreat. More on the Hell Drivers: Hell Drivers - The frequently used term to describe, and the very popular title of, numerous automobile thrill-based productions performing at fairs and racetracks by various squads of stunt drivers since the 1930's. Earl "Lucky" Teter was the first to coin the phrase Hell Drivers, when began touring his show in 1934. Hell Drivers provided massive audiences with an always exciting show filled with precision driving and deliberate crashes. Featured stunts included driving cars on two wheels, crashing through flaming barricades, and jumping an automobile ramp to ramp through mid air. For many years, Hell Drivers were used to demonstrate the dependability of a manufacturers automotive product. Major Hell Driver automotive sponsors have included Chevrolet, Dodge, Chrysler, Ford, AMC, Nash, and Toyota. HELP US AND CONTRIBUTE TO PRESERVE AUTO THRILL SHOW HISTORY TIMELINE. www.stuntdriver1.com is an Official Index of Past and Present Elite Auto Hell Drivers, Daredevils and Stunt Drivers for the 21st Century.We believe that we have listed over 99% of the stunt drivers, auto hell drivers and daredevil performers. If you have performed three full seasons or more with an Auto Thrill Show and would like to be added to this list, e-mail: Pete Chance at pchance@uniserve.com





Ward Beam

History of State Fairgrounds
Grounds For Sculpture is located on a site that was formerly part of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. The Domestic Arts Building, was an exhibit hall built in the 1920s to house displays of handicrafts, needlework, canned goods, and other practical arts relating to the home. The Motor Exhibits Building across the courtyard also dates from that period. The steel-framed Museum building was constructed approximately twenty years later to shelter the exhibits of goats, rabbits, and other small livestock. It was moved to the current site from its former location in what is now the courtyard between the Domestic Arts and Motor Exhibits Building. Fairs were held intermittently in Trenton Township since 1745 when King George II granted a royal charter allowing them for the purpose of buying and selling livestock and other merchandise. This charter provided for the first fair in Colonial America. The twice-a-year event, held in April and October, lasted until the township charter was surrendered five years later. In 1797 State Legislature banned all fairs until a revision was sought by the State Agricultural Society in 1858. Fairs were held sporadically in the mid-1880s by various agricultural organizations at locations in the Trenton area and thoroughbred horse racing was billed as a main attraction.
Local prominent businessmen, wanting to establish the fair as an annual event with a permanent location and a racetrack, organized the Inter-State Fair Association in 1888. More than one hundred acres were purchased, which includes the present-day acreage of the sculpture park.
The Inter-State Fairs were a huge success, drawing crowds to view the displays of various breeds of horses, cattle and other livestock, agricultural products and farming equipment, culinary arts and needlework. Midway attractions, entertainment featuring daredevil stunts, and horse races were always popular with the spectators. Special events held that first year included a shooting match between Annie Oakley and Miles Johnson, and demonstrations of horsemanship and lassoing by cowboys and Indians from Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show. Parachutists jumping from hot-air balloons thrilled audiences in the 1890s. Starting at the turn of the century, death defying shows starring pioneers of aerial navigation, including Harriet Quimby, one of the first women to hold a pilot's license, and automotive racing, were booked to entertain the crowds filling the grandstand. As horses were replaced by automobiles for transportation, cars became the main attraction on the fairground's racetrack.
"Lucky" Teter and his Hell Drivers made the headlines in the 1930s; in the sixties it was midget car races and a 200-mile race for Indianapolis cars and drivers. The area referred to as the "sculpture pad" in Grounds For Sculpture brochures was originally the foundation for the grandstand extension.
By the 1970s attendance was dwindling along with profits, and interest by the owner of the property turned from entertainment to development. In 1980 the land was sold and the New Jersey State Fair was held for the last time on this site.