It was early November 1976. The touring funny cars were out on the West Coast for the winter season of racing. During the previous summer, Englishtown's Vinnie Napp had been helping Jungle put together a sponsorship deal with 7-11, who was heavily involved with Raceway Park at the time. E'Town's annual U.S. All-Pro Funny Car Championships was sponsored by 7-11 and the race helped raise money for Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy.

When asked by 7-11 if he would bring his car to Jerry Lewis' house in the Hollywood hills for a photo shoot with Derek Reeve, the upcoming year's Poster Child, Jungle jumped at the opportunity.

This is one of my favorite shots of Jungle. Life was good for drag racing's master showman. His car was running well, sponsorship was on the horizon and as you can see by this photo, he looked really happy. This shot was taken right after Jungle arrived and set the car in position. Jungle, who was notorious for being late, actually got there on time, but Jerry Lewis, who was inside the house, kept JJ and Derek waiting for over two hours before he came out and did the photo shoot.

I have a copy of that photo but can't post it because of a copyright on it.