id=”article-body” class=”row” section=”article-body”> Dennis Anderson is an extremely charismatic man. You’d never know that this 58-year-old is lovingly known as the king of monster trucks.

Anderson fondly tells me about an old coworker who used to make fun of his 1951 Ford truck, indoor jungle gym calling it a piece of junk. Anderson responded with, “I’ll take this junk and I’ll dig your grave.” That weekend, Anderson used a bulldozer to carve out a truck playground, big mud pit and all, and invited his naysaying coworker to come out and play. With “Gravedigger” spray painted on the side of that Ford, Anderson showed his foe who’s boss.

Enlarge ImageGravedigger flying high at Monster Jam.

Feld Entertainment That grudge match started what is now one of the most popular events in the motorsports world: Monster Jam.

Monster Jam used to focus around just two events: racing, either timed or head-to-head, and freestyle, where drivers get a limited amount of time to impress judges and fans with wheelies, flips, jumps and more.

Today, monster truck drivers have to be a bit more well-rounded. For starters, Monster Jam now has the very popular two-wheel competition, where points are awarded for the best stunts performed on two (or even one!) wheel. In addition, Monster Jam drivers have to be able to race small, too, competing on both ATVs and vehicles known as Speedsters, which are essentially caged side-by-sides that are super nimble, but also hard to handle.

Of course, it’s the big trucks that attract the fans. Monster trucks are 12,000 pounds of car-crushing hell on wheels. But it turns out they have a bit of trick tech, as well.