By Hank Collins
When most people hear Jack Roush’s name, they picture the NASCAR speed wizard whose drivers consistently rank at the top of the Nextel rankings. Or they know him as the man behind the Roush Mustangs -- a favorite at Town & Country Ford, the third largest Roush Performance Dealer in the United States, where his friend Steve Watts is president.

Fewer people know about the Roush who sits quietly for hours on end on land belonging to Ted Watts, Sr. (Steve’s uncle) in Elmore County. But in recent years, Roush has become an avid turkey hunter.

In fact, Roush has managed to go turkey hunting in Alabama the past four years in a row, starting in 2003 when he shot his first Alabama gobbler during the Governor’s Annual One-Shot turkey hunt.

On his 2005 hunt at Ted Watts’s “Tecafawa Hunting Preserve”, Roush shot a turkey within 30 minutes after daybreak, working with guides Chad Stearns, Tommy Bass and Ted Watts, Jr. This past spring Jack Roush Jr. harvested his first turkey with Stearns and Bass.

“I have the rare privilege of spending a lot of time with Jack because of our close business relationship at Town & Country Ford. When he talks about how turkey hunting has helped him learn to stop and appreciate the great outdoors, he means it,” said Steve Watts.

Roush said his first Alabama turkey hunt in 2003 hooked him. Despite fishing a great deal as a child, Roush told Birmingham News outdoor writer Mike Bolton he’d had few outdoor experiences as an adult before taking up turkey hunting.

But that may change, too.

“Mr. Ted Watts has been nice enough to allow us the use of his place for several years now, and we’ve been invited back to go bass fishing. We want to take him up on that,” he told The News.

You can personally meet the turkey hunting NASCAR legend, during his promotional visit 4 PM on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at Town & Country Ford in Bessemer.

For more information and directions click www. alabamaford.com or call 205-491-0000.