Jim Liberman
Arguably the greatest showman and drag racing history, “Jungle Jim” was responsible for single-handedly converting untold thousands of young people into dedicated drag racing fans. Liberman’s rise from the security of bracket racing a Chevy powered Studebaker at Fremont Raceway coincided not only with the funny car craze of the mid-60’s, but also with the hippie movement flowering in nearby San Francisco. When this young long-haired, fearless driver stopped into Lew Arrington’s equally unpredictable “Brutus” GTO, the resulting chemistry attracted a whole new audience of younger, less conservative spectators. So many of them, in fact, that Liberman was soon fielding his own two-car team, rapidly advancing from modified Nova door stammers two state-of-the-art Vega and Monzo floppers. His fans came to expect the unexpected, and he responded with spectacular burnouts, fire burnouts, 1320-foot smoky burnouts, wrong-way burnouts, and even return road burnouts. The addition of sidekick “Jungle Pam” (Pam Hardy) and a hot-selling Revell model further fueled demand. Ironically, his reputation as a showman somewhat overshadowed these professional drag racers’ equal abilities as a skilled handler and a shrewd businessman. His unique combination of talent has not been seen since a fatal highway accident prematurely shortened a career that was still on the rise. Indeed “Jungle” Jim Liberman remains one-of-a-kind.