Years before John Force arrived on the scene, drag racing's original flamboyant showman was "Jungle Jim" Liberman; a larger-than-life individual whose flaming burnouts, glib personality, and boundless energy helped endear him to fans in a manner that eluded other drivers with better winning records. Liberman was much more than a touring professional; with his wild wheelstands, 100-mph backups from burnouts, stubborn refusal to lift on even the most out-of-shape runs, and his curvaceous companion, "Jungle Pam" Hardy, Liberman provided all the entertainment of a traveling circus. Liberman's life, like the lives of many fast-living icons of youth such as James Dean, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin, was as short as it was fast-paced. He died at the age of 32 after suffering fatal injuries in a head-on collision with a bus on Sept. 9, 1977. His premature passing left a void in the sport that wasn't replaced until Force's explosive personality emerged in the late 1980s. Today, the legend of "Jungle Jim" lives on with "Jungle Pam," his constant companion in his heyday who titillated race fans with her skimpy outfits and provocative on-track actions. "At every race track that I go to," said Hardy, "everyone comes up and asks for my autograph. They ask what he was like and if he was as crazy as they've heard. The fans really miss him, and they miss the fun part of drag racing. The sport has become so professional now that there's no room for any of that anymore." "I was just 18 <b>...</b>
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