(Words and photos by Darr Hawthorne) – The 33rd Annual Truckin’ for Kids Show and Drags was held again this year at the Irwindale Event Center engulfing the Irwindale Dragstrip and pits with close to three hundred big rigs, chromed, restored classic trucks, antiques, parts and accessories. The primary beneficiary of the yearly event is the Los Angeles Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the 2012 charity event raised over $12,000 with more expected for this year. The Irwindale Event Center parking lots were packed with spectator vehicles and 18-wheelers of all kinds, the kinds that haul steel pipe, cattle, hay, huge boats, gasoline and oil, repair trucks, farm rigs, boom trucks, car haulers, flat beds for shipping containers – and everything in between.

The enthusiastic crowd of adults and kids, who enjoyed near perfect  weather, also saw smoky action on the eighth-mile dragstrip with diesel 4×4 pick-ups and nitrous fed big rigs literally thundering down the track.Enjoy the photos reporter Darr Hawthorne shot over the weekend of  some of the biggest, brightest and chromed working and show trucks from Southern California and across the country.

For more info on Truckin’ for Kids: www.truckinforkids.org