Russell James Liberman AKA “Jungle” Jim was drag racing’s flamboyant wild man of the Funny Car class from 1965 to 1977. “Jungle” endeared himself to drag racing fans across the USA with his long, smokey burnouts and on-the-edge driving style. The fans also loved his larger-than-life personality and the swagger that he brought to the sport.
We both entered the sport of drag racing about the same time; I with my trusty camera and Liberman at the wheel of the Liberman Bros. Pontiac A/Stock circa 1964. I saw him and his then-girlfriend Bobbie regularly at Fremont, where he sharpened his driving skills. When the Funny Car craze came to Northern California, he would partner with another racer to run a converted Chevrolet Nova A/Modified Production named “Hercules”. Zucovich and Liberman Nova would see action as a nitro-burning injected A/Factory Experimental in 1965.
Late in 1965, Lew Arrington had the fresh-faced kid at the controls of his blown Pontiac-powered GTO. AGTO. A special added touch was that the lettering on “Brutus” was done by Bobbie Liberman. “Jungle” drove Lew’s GTO for almost two seasons while he was building his own Chevrolet Nova Funny Car. Believe it or not, back when he was driving the “Brutus,” he was a shy and quiet individual. The thing that stood out back then was his playing of his harmonica.
It was amazing to watch this shy and quiet racer turn into a swaggering Funny Car racer. “Jungle” was a showman at heart and knew how to please his legion of fans. In 1967, he drove both his Nova and Arrington’s “Brutus” until late in 1967, then Lew took over the controls of his GTO.
“Jungle,” in 1968, hit the strip with an all-new Chevrolet Nova Funny Car. That’s when I got a call from him. He needed photos of his new ride for promoters in the Midwest and East Coast. The promoters had heard about this wild child with a new Nova Funny Car and wanted to see photos of him and his car. So, I grabbed my camera bag and hopped on my motorcycle and made the 25-mile trip from my house to “Jungle’s” shop in San Jose.
His drag racing stardom skyrocketed after he visited the Lions drag strip in Long Beach, CA. That’s where he took down some of the best Funny Cars in the country at the 1968 AHRA Funny Car Nationals in February. Yes, I was there. It had to be the most incredible gathering of Funny Car in the USA. It was the best Funny Car event I have ever attended, then and now. With that win, he was now in demand, like every racetrack wanted to book him for their funny car race. It proved to be a banner year for Liberman’s as they toured the USA, pleasing their adoring fan base.
1969 was even a bigger year for “Jungle” as NHRA added a new Funny Car eliminator class to their national events. Pomona, CA, was the first ever Funny Car eliminator class competition. Now running two Chevrolet Nova Funny Cars, with “Jungle” Clare Sanders at the wheel of Team “Jungle’s” no.2 Chevrolet Nova Funny Car. Clare took home the victory for Team “Jungle”. Now he was in even greater demand after his NHRA national win. Late in 1969, Liberman added a third Nova to Team “Jungle.” Marc Susman would drive this one. In 1970, three Liberman Novas were traveling throughout the USA and into Canada. Susman would crash the third car in late 1970, and it was not rebuilt.
The following year, Liberman switched body styles to a Chevrolet Camaro funny car. He was now based in West Chester, PA, because it was easier to race on the Midwest and East Coast from Pennsylvania. The first time he brought his Camaro Funny Car to the West Coast was to OCIR, where he put on an incredible show with massive fire burnouts and wheels-up runs, earning the crowds’ applause and shouts for more. So, the following weekend, he was at Irwindale doing his wild and crazy act, and again, the fans loved it.
In 1971, Gone was that quiet, shy, reserved racer; now it was a brash and arrogant, in-your-face drag racer. “Jungle” Bobbie was gone after their divorce, and now it was a Pennsylvania girl, Pam Hardy, who replaced Bobbie. “Jungle.” Pam was a very welcome sight to those adolescent male drag race fans. They loved it when she backed up Liberman, wearing her scantily clad see-through tops. Promoters demanded that Pam be part of the “Jungle” Jim experience when he was booked into their racetrack.
Between 1972 and 1977, it was a whirlwind for the touring couple. All that came to an abrupt halt when, on Sept.9th, 1977, Russell James Liberman died in his Corvette on a street in West Chester, Pa. He was 32 years old. Drag racing fans mourned the loss of their Wildman of Funny Car racing. In 2019, NHRA celebrated its 50th anniversary of the Funny Car class, and Liberman was voted the No.1 Funny Car driver of the first 50 years of Funny Car racing. Somewhere, “Jungle” is smiling or playing his harmonica.
Liberman’s first experience in the early days of funny car racing was at the controls of the Zucovich and Liberman “Hercules” Chevrolet Nova. It was originally an A/MP class racer, but a nitro-burning injected big-block Chevrolet engine was installed, and “Hercules” became an early A/FX Funny Car.
Late in 1965, Liberman’s old pal Lew Arrington debuted his all-new “Brutus” Pontiac GTO Funny Car. “Jungle was at the controls for Arrington, and a special touch was Liberman’s new bride, Bobbie, who had done the lettering on Arrington’s GTO. “Jungle” would drive the GTO throughout 1966 and almost all of 1967. Here at Fremont, he faces off with Larry Reyes driving the “Kingfish” Cuda Funny Car. Liberman won the two-out-of-three-match race that long-ago weekend in 1967.
It’s Dec.1966, and Liberman now had his own Funny Car ride with his all-new Chevrolet. Being “Jungle” with a new toy proved to be exciting as he ran off the end of Fremont, through a fence, and into a cow pasture. His (now fired) crewman forgot to remove the pin from the parachute pack, thus sending Liberman and his new Funny Car into the cow pasture. Since Funny Cars are not built to go off-roading, the ride trashed the front clip of the new racer and bent a few front-end pieces.
Three hours later, there was Liberman staging to run his now sans front clip Funny Car, and of course, he staged and did a full pass, only this time with a blossoming chute. When Super Stock Magazine was featuring their “Match Race Madness” in their monthly magazine, I received a call from their photo editor, Leslie Lovett. Lovett wanted me to cover the upstart kid versus veteran Funny Car showdown, featuring Gas Ronda. A Chevy vs Ford battle would make great print, and it did.” Jungle” lost the two-out-of-three battle, but the match race put him out there for all to see.
The start of 1968 brought a whole new dimension for Liberman with his all-new Chevrolet Nova Funny Car. He debuted the car at his “home” track of Fremont and then went to the 1968 AHRA Funny Car Nationals at Lions Dragstrip in Long Beach, CA., and he waded through some of the best Funny Cars in the country to score top honors at the stellar event. His performance at that event brought him nationwide attention from funny car fans and drag race promoters across the USA.
“Jungle’s” old pal Lew Arrington brought out a new Funny Car, a slick Pontiac Firebird-bodied Funny Car. Here at Fremont, the two old friends do battle for bragging rights to who’s the “King” of Funny Car racers in San Jose, Ca.
Liberman put Lew and his new Firebird on the trailer back to San Jose that day.
Another friendly duel took place at Fremont in 1968 when “Jungle” Jim Liberman match raced “Fast” Eddie Schartman and his Air Lift Rattler Mercury Cyclone Funny Car. The two old buddies were not only rivals on the racetrack but liked to play high-stakes poker. In fact, at the OCIR manufacturer’s race later that year, “Jungle” signed over his appearance money check to pay Schartman for poker losses that had occurred earlier in the year. At Fremont, the two put on quite a show when they smoked the tires almost side by side the entire quarter mile on the second round of their 3 round match race.
The 1969 NHRA Winternationals featured the first-ever Funny Car eliminator class. Liberman had his Team “Jungle” Chevrolet Novas in the mix, and when the smoke and nitro fumes cleared, Clare Sanders, driving “Jungle’s” No.2 Funny Car, had won the class eliminator. Clare was no stranger to Funny Car racing as he drove the Limefire’ Cuda Funny Car before being a team “Jungle” member.
Here in Sacramento, Ca. in 1970.
“Jungle” is driving his all-new Chevrolet Nova Funny Car. His appearance on the West Coast seems to dwindle as he was racing out of West Chester, Pa. I only saw him a few times in 1970 because our paths didn’t cross as he was match racing and I was photographing national events.
Liberman made the switch to a Chevrolet Camaro at the beginning of 1971 and that wasn’t all he switched. He divorced “Jungle” Bobbie and now had a local Pennsylvania girl with him, Pam Hardy. He put on quite a show at both OCIR and Irwindale with his huge fire burnout.\
The fans in the stands loved it, as he lit up the SoCal skies. Of course, “Jungle” was always on the lookout for Funny Cars for sale. While on the West Coast he purchased the Kirby Bros. Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car. He painted it his traditional blue and ran it a few times, and sold it to the Wahley Bros., and it became their “Warlord” funny car. Over the 12 years that he raced, “Jungle” bought and sold at least 30-plus Funny Cars.
The 1972 season saw another body change for Liberman; this time, he switched to a Chevrolet Vega body. Another change was a Revell sponsorship; he was now “Revell’s Jungle Jim”. And Revell mass-produced model kits of the Vega, and I got to furnish the box art photos. Team “Jungle” had a color switch also, with the cars being done in red, here at Irwindale, CA. Russell “Doughboy” Long is filling in for the very hungover Liberman.
Long was the West Coast go-to-guy when “Jungle” had partied a little too much the night before a race. And as always, Russell did an excellent “Jungle” Jim impression while at the controls of Liberman’s Funny Car.
“Jungle Pam” was the adolescent male’s dream girl at the drag races. She put on quite the show when backing “Jungle” up after one of his killer burnouts. Promoters insisted she accompany Liberman when he ran at their racetrack. She had become part of the traveling “Jungle” Jim Funny Car show. One thing about Liberman is that he never forgot his friends, and his West Chester home was always open to racers and photographers, like me. Yes, I stayed with “Jungle” while I was on tour. The beer was cold, and the steaks were delicious. He and Pam were great hosts.
The last car I saw “Jungle” drive was in 1977 in Tucson, AZ. It was his Chevrolet Monza Funny Car. Also at that same event was Ron Attebury driving the Revell “Jungle Jim” Top Fuel dragster. Revell wanted to cash in on Liberman’s fame, so they had him sponsor Atterbury Brothers Top Fuel dragster. The rumor was that “Jungle” had Don Garlits build him a Top Fuel dragster, which he was going to drive, but the sponsorship money wasn’t there, so it was sold. Revell produced a great model kit of the Monza, featuring figures of “Jungle” and Pam with the car. Again, I had the opportunity to take the box art photos.
On September 9, 1977, Russell James Liberman lost his life while driving down his Corvette on a street in West Chester, Pa. The drag racing community mourned the passing of one of the favorite sons ever to go down a quarter-mile. Liberman was only 32 years old. NHRA’s 50th anniversary of the Funny Car class, “Jungle” Jim Liberman was voted most popular Funny Car driver in the first 50 years of the Funny Car class.
Somewhere, “Jungle” is smiling or playing his harmonica.
