This story bears some resemblance to writer Peter Dixon's earlier contribution to the series, the unfilmed script The Wind Devil. That story (co-written with Knight Rider story-editor Janis Hendler) also involved innocent people being forced off their land by criminals in search of precious oil.
This was actor James LeGros' first television appearance.
In-universe, KITT could have simply let the monster trucks ride right over him without any harm to himself, but since this was produced before CGI could simulate that, the producers were pretty much limited to either avoiding that or using (probably poor quality) models to fake it.
KITT claims to have found Malidium-sulfate, which does not seem to be a real English word for any real-world substance.