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by ollie87 2321 days ago
Battery pack might be better really, you could move the centre of gravity slightly lower than the fuel tank and engine on a ICE version.
2 comments

With how massive the wheels and tires are, maybe hub motors with batteries packed in their centers could work. I don't get the impression that monster trucks strive to minimize unsprung weight, the tires are wrecking balls.
https://youtu.be/OumQxxO8v1M <- 2014 EV monster truck

You wouldn't need huge battery life for a 15 minute performance, so shaving off battery weight might just work. What most people go to see is airborne jumps rather than crushing things hence need for low weight.

IIRC the rubber tires weigh 1000+lbs each, I wonder if the tires could be implemented differently using lightweight materials shifting their weight budget into hubmotor+battery.
Tires are consumable so you're unlikely to see monster truck teams adopt anything too exotic for cost reasons unless there's a huge performance improvement to go with it.
It's the weight of the batteries to drive that sort of power compared to ICE that would be the issue, not location. Would be an interesting experiment