The "Truckin' for Kids Truck Drags" is held each autumn at the L.A. County Raceway near Palmdale, in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles. And it's for more than fun: Over the years, the event has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Ability First (formerly the Crippled Children's Society), according to its organizers, Frank and Dianna Pangborn.

Last year's event drew more than 10,000 people, twice the 1998 crowd. Some roamed the Beauty Show area where scores of trucks glistened in the warm sun. Others entered the Working Truck Show, testing their professional skills against the clock.

The Truck Drags are perhaps the best-known of its activities. Last year's had everything from highway tractors to cement trucks to a jet dragster. The jet, wearing cami-colored panels so it looked like a tracked artillery piece, blasted over the strip's quarter-mile length in about the time it took you to read this sentence, hitting better than 200 mph. At the other extreme were the ponderous mixer chassis that took closer to 20 seconds to reach about 45 mph. This year's Truckin' for Kids happens Oct. 14-15. Call (208) 448-2811 or see www.abilityfirst.org for details.