Jim Liberman

{{Short description|American racing driver (1945–1977)}} {{Infobox racing driver | name = Jim Liberman | image = JungleJimBurnout.jpg | caption = Jungle Jim burnout in Texas, 1976 | nationality = | birth_name = Russell James Liberman | birth_date = {{Birth date|1945|09|12}} | birth_place = Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|09|09|1945|09|12}} | death_place = West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. | retired =  | relatives =  | last_series = | years_active = | teams = | starts = | wins = | poles = | fastest_laps =  | best_finish =  | year =  | prev_series = Match racing | prev_series_years = | titles = 1975 Nationals | title_years = | awards = International Drag Racing Hall of Fame (1993)<ref name=scrapbook/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Garlits |first1="Big Daddy" Don |title=International Drag Racing Hall of Fame All Time List |url=http://garlits.com/international-drag-racing-hall-of-fame-all-time-list/ |website=Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing |accessdate=14 March 2019 |language=en-CA |archive-date=10 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910105302/http://garlits.com/international-drag-racing-hall-of-fame-all-time-list/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | award_years = }}

'''Russell James Liberman''' (September 12, 1945<ref>[https://www.streetmusclemag.com/news/the-greats-of-chevrolet-before-they-were-famous-jungle-jim-liberman/ ''Street Muscle Mag''] bio (retrieved 30 December 2018)</ref> – September 9, 1977<ref>[http://www.dragtimes.ru/en/blogs/view/8309 Dragtimes.ru] (retrieved 30 December 2018)</ref>) was an American funny car drag racer, nicknamed '''"Jungle Jim."''' In 2001, he was named #17 on the list of the Top 50 NHRA drivers of all time.<ref name=NHRA>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhra.net/50th/top50/J_Liberman17.html |title=No. 17 'Jungle Jim' |website=National Hot Rod Association |access-date=May 9, 2018}}</ref> Liberman was known for driving backwards at {{convert|100|mph}} after doing his burnout.<ref name=NHRA />

Liberman was a flamboyant showman who primarily toured the United States at drag racing match race events. During his career, he averaged an estimated 100 events per year during the 1970s. He refused to lift off the gas when a run was completely out of shape.<ref name=NHRA /> He was regarded by many as the "greatest showman the drag strip has ever experienced."<ref name=foxsports/>

Liberman married Roberta Louise "Bobbi" Good on August 14, 1965, in Santa Clara, California. They divorced in October 1972 in Orange, California.

== Early life ==

Liberman was born in Pennsylvania. He dropped out of high school in his junior year and began racing when he moved to Northern California.<ref name=NHRA />

== Drag racing career ==

He began drag racing in the Stock division at Fremont Raceway in 1964<ref name=NHRA /> and made a jump up to funny cars in 1965, driving an injected Nova on nitromethane dubbed ''Hercules''.<ref name=NHRA /> Later that year he started on the national scene as the driver of Lew Arrington's supercharged GTO Funny Car, ''Brutus''.<ref name=NHRA /> In 1966, Liberman went out on his own in his first supercharged (steel-bodied) Chevy II,<ref name=NHRA /> the first to wear the "Jungle Jim" name.<ref>Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "Favorite Race Car Ever voting: Early Funny Cars", written 21 July 2008, at [https://www.nhra.com/news/2008/favorite-race-car-ever-voting-early-funny-cars NHRA.com] (retrieved 1 October 2018)</ref> In 1967, he went on a tour that established him as a household name within drag racing circles across the country.<ref name=NHRA /> Despite making eight-second runs in his Chevy when other top dragracers in factory-sponsored cars made runs in the seven-second range, he gained a large fan following.<ref name=NHRA /> Liberman was more interesting.<ref name=NHRA /> He won the hearts of the spectators after he did wheelstands for the full length of the track in a two-race match race against Don Nicholson.<ref name=NHRA />

Liberman's success in 1967 prompted him to run a two-car team in 1968.<ref name=NHRA /> His choice as the first driver in his second car was Clare Sanders. Others drivers using Liberman's cars included Ron Attebury, Jake Crimmins, Roy Harris, Russell Long, Pete Williams, and former partner Arrington.<ref name=NHRA /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nhra.com/news/2016/top-three-liberman |title=The top three: Liberman |first=Phil |last=Burgess |website=National Hot Rod Association |date=October 28, 2016}}</ref> The team went on to include a Steve Kanuika-owned and sponsored nine-second heads-up '69 Camaro and a Dutch Irrgang-driven '72 Vega Pro Stocker.<ref name=NHRA />

''Super Stock & Drag Illustrated'' had a story idea that required the total disassembly of a Funny Car down to the last nut and bolt for a true exploded-view picture. Nearly every leading driver in the category turned down the magazine's request. Liberman complied, and the resulting publicity only added to his legend.<ref name=NHRA /> Another one of his strengths was that Liberman was the main Chevrolet banner carrier.<ref name=NHRA />

=== Sidekick ===

His sidekick was "Jungle Pam." Liberman met 18-year-old Pamela Hardy two weeks before she graduated from high school in May 1972 when he spotted her walking while driving his yellow Corvette.<ref name=roadkill/> Hardy, who had been accepted to West Chester State, intended to major in business.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knott |first1=Rebeka |title=Jungle Pam: Drag Racing's Sweetheart Then And Now |url=https://groovyhistory.com/jungle-pam-drag-racing-then-and-now |website=Groovy History |accessdate=14 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Instead, she became Liberman's girlfriend and toured with him for four years. "I ditched the college that had accepted me, and it drove my mother nuts," she later recalled.<ref name=ned>{{cite web |title=2014 New England Hot Rod Reunion |url=http://cacklefest.com/2014-NED.shtml |website=cacklefest.com |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref>

Liberman, eager to get fans' attention at the track, initially hired Hardy to stage his funny car on the line.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaw |first1=Kevin |title=Our Favorite Bombshells From Glory Days of the Drags |url=https://www.dragzine.com/features/our-favorite-bombshells-from-glory-days-of-the-drags/ |website=Dragzine |accessdate=13 March 2019 |date=24 May 2010}}</ref> Hardy was well-endowed and was always braless. She usually wore a tank top or skimpy halter and jean shorts with "zero-inch inseam". Her enticing performance gathered a lot of attention. Liberman and Hardy briefly appeared in ''Vrooom!'', a 16-minute documentary directed by Ken Rudolph about a day at a drag race track. They also were featured in several auto magazines with Hardy typically wearing go-go boots, short-shorts, and titillating tops. She appeared on the February 1973 cover of ''Hot Rod'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEX & SPEED {{!}} "JUNGLE PAM" HARDY & "JUNGLE JIM" LIBERMAN LIGHT 'EM UP |url=https://selvedgeyard.com/2010/10/03/sex-speed-jungle-pam-hardy-jungle-jim-liberman-light-em-up/ |website=The Selvedge Yard |accessdate=13 March 2019 |language=en |date=4 October 2010}}</ref>

She earned the nickname "Jungle Pam" Hardy. She not only staged the car and checked under the vehicle for fluid leaks before a run, but filled the block with water and eight quarts of 70W oil, packed parachutes after each run, and helped Liberman reposition his car on the line after his burnouts.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.hotrod.com/articles/take-5-with-jungle-pam-hardy/ |title=Take 5 With 'Jungle' Pam Hardy |first=Elana |last=Scherr |magazine=Hot Rod |date=August 23, 2013 |issn=0018-6031}}</ref><ref name=roadkill>[https://m.roadkillcustoms.com/the-legend-of-jungle-pam-hardy/ The Legend of “Jungle Pam” Hardy]</ref> Her presence on the track was described as "a stroke of genius" and raised the profile of Liberman's team and Funny Car racing in general.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knott |first1=Rebeka |title=Jungle Pam: Drag Racing's Sweetheart Then And Now |url=https://groovyhistory.com/jungle-pam-drag-racing-then-and-now |website=Groovy History |accessdate=13 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

She said of Liberman, "All that showmanship was his true personality. He just didn't turn that on at the track and then became normal like everyone else at home. He had that sort of flair even when we were just at the house or went out some place. You could always feel his presence wherever he was."<ref name=NHRA /> She described Liberman as a gifted mechanic and said that before he was killed he was considering building engines instead of racing. After Liberman's death, Hardy never worked with another driver.<ref name=foxsports>{{cite web |title=Legendary 1970s drag racing figure makes a return to the strip |url=https://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/nhra-pam-hardy-jim-liberman-jack-beckman-111316 |website=FOX Sports |accessdate=14 March 2019 |date=13 November 2016}}</ref> She later married Funny Car owner Fred Frey and after they divorced, Bill Hodgson, who tunes George Reidnauer's Excalibur Corvette Nostalgia Funny Car.<ref>{{cite web |title=Drag Racing Online - Lookin' Back |url=http://www.dragracingonline.com/archive/lookback/ii_12e.html |website=www.dragracingonline.com |accessdate=14 March 2019}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=roadkill/><ref>{{cite web |title=Hardy Frey Marriage |url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/84/3f/97/843f97fc7c78c76a41ea82a878cd44f3.jpg |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=ned/>

=== NHRA ===

Liberman distrusted the NHRA and preferred the barn storming nature of match racing with its guaranteed payouts for three runs, win or lose, over racing on the NHRA circuit.<ref name=NHRA /><ref name=roadkill/> He had one national event win in NHRA competition at the 1975 Summernationals at Englishtown, New Jersey.<ref name=NHRA /> His second car was driven by Clare Sanders to victory at the 1969 Winternationals.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

During 1972 and 1973, Liberman attended 100 race meets; this record was matched only by "TV Tommy" Ivo and Ed "The Ace" McCulloch.<ref>[https://www.motorsport.com/vintage/news/nhra-s-50-greatest-drivers-no-19-ed-the-ace-mcculloch/70726/ Motorsport.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918165128/https://www.motorsport.com/vintage/news/nhra-s-50-greatest-drivers-no-19-ed-the-ace-mcculloch/70726/ |date=2018-09-18 }} (retrieved 14 September 2018)</ref>

Liberman drove a Vega funny car, in three distinct incarnations.<ref name="auto">Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "'Jungle's' Vega: Who knows which nose?", written 16 December 2016, at [https://www.nhra.com/news/2016/jungle-s-vega-who-knows-which-nose NHRA.com] (retrieved 16 September 2018)</ref> The first Vega, painted candy blue, appeared in August 1972, was also driven by Pam Hardy, and was on the cover of ''Hot Rod''.<ref name="auto"/> Designed by Romeo Palamides, it was bodied by Ron Pelligrini's company, Fiberglass Ltd.<ref name="auto"/> The second Vega was driven primarily by Roy Harris, and was painted a darker candy blue than the first.<ref name="auto"/> It was the subject of a Revell model kit.<ref name="auto"/> The third made its debut in 1974.<ref name="auto"/>

== Death ==

Liberman was driving his Chevrolet Corvette car in West Goshen Township near West Chester, Pennsylvania when he rounded a corner on the West Chester Pike at excessive speed and collided with a SEPTA transit bus head-on September 9, 1977, killing him. The car was wedged under the bumper and underchassis of the bus. It took responders more than 45 minutes to extricate his body from the wreckage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/frank_fitzpatrick/20170225_Frank_s_Place__When_Jungle_Jim_Liberman_ruled_in_Funny_Cars.html |title=Frank's Place: When Jungle Jim Liberman ruled in Funny Cars |first=Frank |last=Fitzpatrick |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=February 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 10, 2018 |access-date=May 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510183913/http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/frank_fitzpatrick/20170225_Frank_s_Place__When_Jungle_Jim_Liberman_ruled_in_Funny_Cars.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=scrapbook>{{cite web |title=GEEZERS AT THE GROVE 2007 |url=http://junglepam.com/scrapbook.html |accessdate=14 March 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219170732/http://junglepam.com/scrapbook.html |archivedate=December 19, 2010}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{Find a Grave|63274313}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberman, Jim}} Category:1945 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Dragster drivers Category:Racing drivers from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Category:Racing drivers from California Category:Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania Category:Sportspeople from Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Category:20th-century American sportsmen