Al, Ellen, & Rich Hanna, Hanna Motorsports Jets, a 50-year professional drag race corporation, recently announced the coming debut of what is described as a “True Revolution” in the jet dragster category; the all-new semi-streamliner and revolutionary “Queen of Diamonds II” 300 MPH Jet Dragster. Hanna Motorsports Jets is recognized as one of the premier performers in the jet car category, and a leader in the area of technology, with their World Speed and ET Record Holding ‘GOJO Firebird’, and their incredible high tech ‘Top Secret’ Firebird jet funny cars.

The Hanna jets will run at select Nitro Jam events in 2013 including a much-anticipated battle between Jill Canusso in the "Queen of Diamonds" vs. Bruce Litton's 300 mph Top Fuel Dragster at the Pittsburgh Nitro Jam in June.

Hanna Motorsports has support from their terrific marketing partners on all their programs.  ‘GOJO Hand Cleaner’ is in the third year of marketing with Hanna Motorsports.  ‘BIC Lighter’ is in the 10^th year as a marketing partner with the Hanna family. The newest member of the marketing team is the ‘Excel Dryer Corporation’, maker of ‘XLERATOR Hand Dryers’. All are world leaders of their respective industries.  “Without the support of these incredible companies, we could never have the success we’ve had in motorsports. We thank them for their support and belief in our family, and our race team”, said Rich Hanna. The team also has support from BASF, Daigle Truck Master, and Simpson Safety Equipment.

In 1997, the original “Queen of Diamonds” debuted, and over the past 15 years, this machine has dominated the jet dragster category at all the events it has participated in. The current “Queen of Diamonds” has run a best of 5.04 seconds ET, at a best of 311 MPH.  “Over the years, there have been other cars that have performed better than our car from time to time but, our goal has always been to be consistent, performing at a high level, with safety at the forefront of our operation”, stated Al Hanna, President of Hanna Motorsports Jets.

    The Queen of Diamonds getting ready for testing

 The new machine features a totally different design, with the driver sitting similarly to the driver in a traditional jet funny car. “The car, with a 270” wheelbase, and offset driver location, is designed to have the engine run easier and cooler” said Rich Hanna. We started running ‘RacePak’ on-board computers in late 1989, and have learned, with certainty, that the engines in our funny cars run much more efficiently than the engine in our dragster.With the limited availability of parts, and the rising cost of those parts, our goal is to allow our car to run at a high level but with less heat and stress. The design of this car accomplishes that goal.”

The other goal of Hanna Motorsports Jets is to remain at the forefront of the jet car category with this new machine. “We’ve had the design for this car on the drawing board for more than 6 years”, said Al Hanna. “We’ve worked with our chassis builder, Dan Page, our designer Larry Williams of Williams Graphics, and Gary Eaker of the ‘A2 Wind Tunnel Complex’ outside Charlotte, NC to achieve the ultimate semi-streamliner design. We’ve also consulted with Ron Main, owner and designer of the ‘Speed Demon’ LSR machine, who’s run close to 500 MPH at Bonneville.  Special thanks to Dan, Larry, Gary, Ron and all those who’ve supported this incredible project.”

The new car will again be driven by Jill Canuso of Pottstown, PA. “Jill has done an incredible job of driving for us, she is a true racer”, said Al. She recently was fitted into the cockpit of the new machine, and feels right at home. “Continuing to drive for Hanna Motorsports Jets is special. I recognize this opportunity as being one of the most 'special moments' in my racing career. The ‘QD II’ will be the quickest, fastest and most technologically advanced race car I've ever driven. Undoubtedly, 2013 will be one of the most memorable years for myself, my team and for all of the fans that experience the ‘QD II.’"

    The Queen of Diamonds at the 2011 Palm Beach Nitro Jam

The new car is a ‘pod design’ with the top fuel style drivers’ compartment in a pod on one left side of the center of the car, and the fuel tank in an aerodynamically matched pod on the right side.  The car features a carbon fiber body, multiple titanium features throughout, and the use of an aircraft-style canopy over the driver’s area.  The ‘BASF’ paint and lettering will be applied by ‘DragGraphix’, North Brookfield, MA, who’s worked with the Hanna group for many years.

“We expect many of our competitors will look at this machine, understand what we’re accomplishing by the new design, and join us in the future with cars similar to ours.” said Al.“This is far from the first jet dragster built of this design.  In fact, the first known side-driver jet dragster was built in the ‘60’s by none other than Art Arfons, and many have followed over the years.”

The completed machine will go through wind-tunnel testing at the ‘A2 Wind Tunnel  Complex’ in North Carolina before testing begins at Maryland International Raceway.

For further information on Hanna Motorsports, visit hannamotorsports.com.