| 79350
EDIT THIS!
|
Ray English Collection
Photog Web |
Jim Liberman (M) from
West Chester, Pennsylvania
USA
(Comp Nr/Finish:
117 ) |
1974 - Category: FUELFC, Type: FN, Class: AA/FC, Div: 1 |
| "Jungle Jim" Owned by Jim Liberman
from
West Chester, Pennsylvania
USA
| Crew Chief: Jim Liberman |
| '74 Chevrolet Vega by
an Unknown chassis builder |
Powered by Supercharged Nitro 426 Chrysler Hemi with
2 speed manual transmission |
| 1/4 Mile ET: |
6.340 at Englishtown NJ 1974 |
1/4 Mile MPH: |
216.34 at Englishtown NJ 7/14/74 |
| 1000 FT ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1000 FT MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
| 1/8 Mile ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1/8 Mile MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
|
|
Entry's 1974 Performance Ratings (0 to 100) based on comparison to average ET/MPH:
|
|
1/4 Mile Rating: ET 71.23,
MPH 50.00 |
Entry is 0.96353 times average ET and 1.00000 times average MPH |
|
1000 FT Rating: ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
| 1/8 Mile Rating:
ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
|
| 1974 Records: |
1/4 Mile: 6.015 ET, 235.64 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.410 ET, 189.00 MPH |
| 1974 Average: |
1/4 Mile: 6.580 ET, 216.34 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.495 ET, 184.00 MPH |
| 1974 Minimum: |
1/4 Mile: 7.145 ET, 200.00 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.825 ET, 172.12 MPH |
|
|
Racer's Web Site |
No video link |
Web Search
|
Web Image Search
|
Web Video Search
|
|
Notes: Went 7.14/204.54 as runner-up at NHRA Englishtown 1974, where Jungle wheelstood all the way down the track. Also 6.76 at Seattle, but no doubt ran better numbers this year. |"Jungle Jim" performed really well this year, and he had to rank in the top ten of anyone's Funny Car list of '74. On May 11 he was at Maple Grove for the Dutch Classic. He had two of his cars there, the second one being driven by Roy Harris. Both cars made the final and it was strange to see "Jungle Jim" vs "Jungle Jim." Liberman started his march over the eight-car field by beating Joe Jacono in the opening round with a 6.69/192.30. In the semifinals, his 6.59/209.79 beat Jake Crimmins' quicker 6.55/215 in the Swensen-Lani Vega. The all JJ final was won by Liberman with a 6.55/210, but it was an easy win and Harris' transmission refused to shift out of low gear. The next day, Liberman was at Rockingham in May for the IHRA Pro-Am Championships. It was a sixteen-car show, and he qualified #8 with a 7.12/202.24. He failed to reach the finals. He won the Englishtown Memorial Day Classic Funny Car race by stopping Paul Smith in the "Fireball Vega" at 6.64 in the final with a 6.63. His next stop was at the Rockford Manufacturer's Meet. Things did not go his way there. He lost all three of his races. In his first race, he faced Don Prudhomme and Jim's 6.54/204.08 lost to the "Snake's" 6.49/217. He got out of shape and shut off in his second race against Charlie Proite and a 6.67/215.82 in the third race lost to Tom McEwen's 6.57/221. From there he went to New England for an eight-car show. He qualified #4 with a 6.67/192 and in round one, his 6.79/175 beat Pete Hill's 7.01/190, but he burnt a piston and was unable to run in the semifinals. Jim was back at Englishtown on July 3 for the Funny Car Spectacular. Ten Funny Car's were on hand and after the first-round, the four lowest ETs advanced to the semifinals. JJ won his first race with a 6.90/210.28 over Smith, but his ET wasn't low enough to advance to the semis. In a consolation race, he ran 6.87/208.33 over Roy Harris. He won two straight over Joe Jacono at Pittsburgh in mid-July with a 6.94/202.24 and 6.80/190. Jim didn't run a lot of the big races, instead concentrating on his lucrative match race schedule, but he did race at the NHRA Summernationals. A 6.51 qualified #6, and he ran 6.85/177.86 over a tire smoking Smith in round one. A 6.54 beat Don Schumacher in round two, and he moved into the final by downing Tommy Grove in the semifinals with a 6.56/216.34. He lost to Al Segrini in the final where a full track wheelstand slowed him to a 7.14/204.54 that lost to Al's 6.83/152. On July 25 he was at Maple Grove for it's All-American Series Funny Car race. It was a sixteen-car field and Liberman showed up using a aluminum motor for the first time. He had a close first-round race with Bob Parmer that had both drivers run 6.68 (JJ at 200.44), but Jim got the win light. It round two he lost to Ed McCulloch. As you can tell, JJ was frequently at Englishtown. He was there again on August 14 for its Race of Champions event. Unfortunately, he lost an engine in the first round, while racing Raymond Beadle. He made a stop at New England for the Eighth annual Funny Car Nationals. It was a 32-car show. Jim beat Sammy Miller in the first round, with a 6.54/212 and in round two he and Pee Wee Wallace both ran 6.58 (Jim at 212), but once again Liberman got there first. In round three, his 6.68/187 lost to eventual winner Bill Leavitt's 6.47/214. He was at Bristol in September for IHRA's All-American Nationals. Jim qualified on the pole with a 6.53 and in round two he beat Ron O'Donnell in the "Damn Yankee" with a 6.56. In the semifinals he lost to Smith. Maple Grove held its Funny Car Grand Finale in October and JJ won it. It was an eight-car field and Jim started his day by beating Crimmins in the "Swensen & Lani" Vega with a 6.67. A 6.52/201 in the semifinals beat a crossed-up Bob Lagana and in the final, he set Low ET with a 6.44 at 207.30 to win over Leavitt. Connecticut was also holding its Funny Car Finale in October and JJ was there, but his ailing 7.13/182.55 in the first round, lost to Joe Jacono's 6.73/205. As the season wound down, Jim was still able to score another victory by winning the Lakeland National Open in November. There he set Low ET in the final with a 6.71 at only 167.91 to win over Segrini's 6.97/191. |
|
Submitted by Draglist Archives, Last updated on Friday, February 13, 2026, 09:06:10 PM by
Ron Howard.
Approved by Bill Pratt. |
|
Rankings updated: 02/14/26 03:02:49 am EST
