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More Progress Will Mean More Power for Edelbrock Renegade Racer Valerie Clements

Posted By: Mary Lendzion
By Mary Lendzion Photos courtesy of Valerie Clements and by NMCA After rocketing to a 4.75 in the eighth-mile and a 7.33 in the quarter-mile in her Mustang last year, NMRA Edelbrock Renegade racer Valerie Clements turned her focus to being even more fierce this year. To help her haul, her father, Alton Clements Sr., who also happens to be her engine-builder, put together a powerful 9.5 deck 427 cubic-inch small-block Ford to replace her 8.2 deck 364 cubic-inch small-block Ford. It will wear a new set of Trick Flow heads currently being finessed by DiSomma Racing Engines, and it will be paired with a ProCharger F-1A-94. Clements, who's marrying fellow racer George Farkouh in May, will continue to use her Turbo 400 transmission, but she's talking with ATI about a new bolt-together converter to complement it. She's also partnering with FuelTech to begin using the company's FT550 engine management system. Clements stripped her car back in December, and her soon-to-be father-in-law, Farid Farkouh, began working on it a few weeks ago at his shop, Farks Supercars, in New Jersey. Farid has gotten 100 pounds off of it so far, said Clements. He removed the radiator support, and is adding a tubular front end to the car. We have a new GlassTek carbon fiber hood and MMR carbon fiber front bumper, and Farid attached the fenders to the front bumper so that we could make it one piece. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="14341,14342"] Plans are in place to outfit Clements car, which does its pavement-pounding on Mickey Thompson drag radials, with new AFCO shocks massaged by Menscer Motorsports, and when the work is wrapped up and the new engine is in the engine bay of the car, it will go to American Racing Headers for a new set of headers. From there, it will go back to Farks Supercars, where Chris Nagawiecki and Clements will wire it. Chris can teach me all of the tricks and show me the best way to wire, said Clements, whose crew consists of her fianc , George Farkouh, father, Alton Clements Sr., mother, Janet Clements, brother and fellow racer Alton Clements, future father-in-law Farid Farkouh and Fran McCarthy. Clements hopes to be rolling her car out of the trailer for a test session by the middle of April, and when she does, it may be wearing a new wrap. I'm looking forward to being back at the track, and behind the wheel and computer consistently this year, said Clements. It's been a couple of years since I've been out more than a handful of times in a season. I think we'll have a very competitive car, and I can't wait to show off all of the work that's being done to it now. I'd like to thank (my crew), because without them, this wouldn't be possible."

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