Hey everyone, let's get right to it. Judging by the number of emails we've received since our series of "Jungle" blogs has been published, you guys out there really dig the Funny Cars from the '70s. The one question a lot of you asked was if I had any photos of other cars that I could pass along here.

Not a problem.

First up courtesy of Tom West is the infamous "Swensen & Lani" Monza (Starfire?) from the 1973 NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown. Driven here by "Crazzzy Jake" Crimmins, who went on to drive for "Jungle", "Shady Glenn" and others, later campaigned his own Mustang II before getting out of the sport for a while. Jake returned to the sport a few years ago, he held the AA/AM record for the past two years in his flip-top Olds and recently finished a replica of his Mustang for the nitro nostalgia Funny Car circuit. How's that for a burnout, huh?

Next is another photo courtesy of Tom West from the same race, the 1973 Summernationals of the blue Barry Setzer Vega. Everyone remembers the 1972 maroon car with the late/great Pat Foster at the throttle, which I believe had the winningest record on the match race circuit. But who was the driver here? Can I hear another contest coming? First reader who knows who # 704 was back then will win a really swell prize.

Now here is another West shot from that same 1973 Summernationals of Russell James Liberman doing what he did best, a burnout. This is the Romeo Palamides-built Vega that currently resides in Don Garlits' museum. It now has a '74 nose on it that Nick Boninfante, who bought the car from Liberman, grafted on it to upgrade the car. After that it passed through a few hands until "Big" bought it and restored it to what it is now. This was the car that I worked on when I went on the West Coast tour with "JJ" for the winter '72-'73 season.

In the background of this shot is the iconic Raceway Park timing tower that was on the west side of the track. During my tenure at RP as the manager/announcer I spent a whole lot of time in that tower, ask Lewis Bloom if you see him about it; some of the best times of my life. Originally built as a two-story structure in 1965, we raised the roof and added a second floor in preparation for the 1968 Summernationals.

Last but not least is one of my favorite shots of "Jungle" at Aquasco, Maryland from, I believe, 1968? This was his second Nova in his series of altered wheelbase cars before he went to a tube chassis, flip-top car. Know who that is in the other lane? That's former S/S driver Dave Strickler who took a shot at Funny Car racing after his success in A/FX until he returned to his roots in doorslammer racing.

Well that's all for now, hope you enjoyed the tour down memory lane.

Type at you soon.

BB