Mopar Muscle Ram takes off at Monster Jam

Chrysler Group service and parts brand Mopar is entering the Monster Truck Racing Series with a new toy, the Mopar Muscle Ram monster truck. The series starts with Monster Jam on Jan. 11 in Detroit. The Mopar-sponsored machine joins legendary Hall Brothers Racing's championship-winning trucks Raminator and Rammunition (perfect names!) for six 2014 Monster Jam events. The truck is the first new OEM truck the series has had in more than a decade.

And boy, it's a real whopper. It's 10 feet high, weighs 10,300 pounds and has 2,000 hp. 2,000! It is very loosely based on a 2014 Ram heavy duty. A 565-cubic-inch supercharged version of the Gen II 426 Hemi powers the, well, monster.

Hall Brothers Racing is no stranger to monster-truck racing success. Driver Mark Hall has eight Driver of the Year honors and seven series titles since 2002. Overall, the team has won 20 championships.

Mike Miller (who started on Hall's pit crew and says he has a son named Hemi—not kidding!) pilots the new truck in the six 2014 events. After Detroit, the truck competes Feb. 22 in Arlington, Texas; May 16-18, Lima, Ohio; June 21-22, Springfield, Mo.; July 11-13, Bloomsburg, Pa.; and Sept. 19-21, Indianapolis.

By Wes Raynal