Jungle Jim Liberman – The Making of an Iconic Drag Racer

There was an automotive saying back in the muscle car glory days during the sixties and seventies: “What wins at the drag strip on Sunday, sells in the showroom on Monday”. And- at least with the younger car buyers- it seemed there was some truth to this adage, as demonstrated by ever increasing muscle car sales at the dealerships. What events could have caught the imagination of an entire car buying generation? In my opinion, Jungle Jim Liberman was an influential drag racer of his time, and one that brought the cool factor of muscle cars to the masses.

Jungle Jim Liberman – The Making of an Iconic Drag Racer

Without a doubt, he was the drag racer that crowds couldn’t wait to come out to see in action. It’s easy to see that Jungle Jim developed a showmanship recipe that many other sports and entertainment personalities follow to this day. I’m not sure whether Jungle Jim mimicked the showmanship angles of someone else or not, but he was for sure the drag racing trend setter of a generation. So what made Jungle Jim so popular and memorable with the drag racing crowds? What was his recipe that kept fans entertained and wanting more? Reading various Jungle Jim historical accounts, together with bits of my own vague 70’s recollections, I have come up with a list that probably contributed to the rise of a huge fan favorite… even though Jungle Jim didn’t actually win many drag racing events. See what you think.

1. Give yourself a catchy and easily remembered moniker – Jungle Jim. As recalled by Jim’s first wife, he went with it simply because he liked the sound of it…it didn’t actually mean anything. Hhhmm, that name couldn’t have influenced a guy’s nickname choice, like Diamond Don, could it?

2. Choose to build custom, funny car bodies based on already popular (Chevrolet) models – 
Hmmm; Diamond Don’s first muscle car was a 1966 Chevy Nova.  Double hhhhhm; Diamond Don’s second muscle car was a 1970 Chevy Nova.

3. Set an aggressive schedule crossing the country to attend as many race events as possible to build a huge fan following –  As I said, he may not have won a lot, but Jungle Jim knew the importance of making himself available to all his fans, and hard to miss for anyone else.

4. Get the crowd on edge, just waiting to go nuts when your funny car appears. – Jungle Jim,  became known for a pre-race routine that included full on smoking half-track burnouts followed by a return to the staging lights at one hundred miles per hour – in reverse! Give ‘em what they want.

5. Incorporate an attractive start line assistant into your race preparation routines. Enter Jungle Pam (Pam Hardy) in short shorts, nuff said. This has obviously gathered steam over the years- hallelujah.

6. Repeatedly use a favourite catch slogan until it becomes commonly associated with your name and face – “Drag racing is farrrrr out!” 

7. Attract big name sponsor Revell so that your popular funny cars are recreated in plastic model kits – Now fans had a way to build and display Jungle Jim’s funny car replicas at home. After taking the time to loving craft and play around up close, guess which funny car those hordes of model owners wanted to see and cheer for most in real life drag action?

8. Design and adopt a highly recognizable and cool decal for the side of your drag racers –  I could go into marketing and becoming a brand, and the necessity of a logo and corporate image, but Liberman did all this in a way that was simply an expression of himself. It was just another dimension of the brilliant way he created his successful drag persona.

Sadly, Jungle Jim passed away too soon at the early age of 32. He sustained fatal injuries in a car accident while street driving in his Corvette. Jungle Jim has been awarded with the 17th spot on the NHRA’s list of all-time Top 50 drivers. It’s fitting recognition of his racing determination, his influential contributions that made the sport more of a cool spectacle than it already was, and his passion to always deliver the best possible show for the drag racing public. If you want to check out more awesome pics from the era, check out Jungle Pam’s website. Do I think Jungle Jim heavily influenced my interests in cool and fast muscle cars of the seventies? You bet.

MANY SMOKY BURNOUTS! I mean…See ya next time – Diamond Don