Happy Papa John to give Camaro owners free pizza after getting his ride back
John Schnatter, the Papa in Papa John's Pizza, has been looking for his 1971 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for nearly 20 years. He sold it in 1983 for $2,800 and used part of that to rescue his father's business and the rest to begin the pizza chain that has gone global. He has spent more than 100 times that much trying to get it back.
Starting off with a FBI agent, then a web appeal and a $25,000 reward, he got nowhere. The reward swelled to $250,000, and then he got on television and talked about trying to get the car back. Some Indiana readers heard about it, and a web engine search led them to Schnatter's story on Jalopnik. Those readers, the Sloanes, thought they knew the owner of the car in question, because they had owned it and recently sold it.
The new owner -- only the third one, after Schnatter -- was a Kentucky man named Jeff Robinson of Flatwoods, Kentucky. He had transformed the original Z28 into an 825 horsepower dragster doing 9.55 quarter-miles at 141 mph. Still, he was unsurprisingly content to sell his car back to Schnatter for the $250,000 reward. The Sloanes also got $25,000 for the assist.
And now their gain may be your gain – if you're one of the Camaro faithful. Papa John is so happy to have his car back that he's giving away free pizza to all Camaro owners tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26. One pizza per Camaro, one visit per Camaro. Although we suppose if you can get that transforming Bumblebee Camaro suit from the Mexican Chevy dealer, you might earn a couple more pies. Thanks to everyone for the tips!
[Sources: Jalopnik; The Associated Press via Google]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Venom 1:32PM (8/25/2009)
His house and his garage are sick.
The car will have a very nice home.
You can find it on homesoftherich.net
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Willie 1:37PM (8/25/2009)
How cool, he was able to find it again. You can do that type of stuff when your rich. Not to mention, he built his business from the ground up and was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
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Geekengineer 3:20PM (8/25/2009)
I have a lot of respect for the guy because of his humble beginnings. He's living the American Dream.
Dave 2:13PM (8/25/2009)
First prize is one slice of Papa John's pizza.
Second prize is TWO slices of Papa John's pizza.
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camaroz1985 1:42PM (8/25/2009)
I should have waited a few more weeks to sell mine. No free pizza for me. :-(
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Radix 1:51PM (8/25/2009)
I hear you. I had an 01 I had from day one and I sold it two weeks ago because I need money and I miss it already. This a kick in the gut after the roundhouse to the face.
Creeper 1:45PM (8/25/2009)
Wooo hooo! Free pizza. That's a good story and it's nice to see that the car managed to stay with people who really took care of it. Now I can't wait to go to PJ's tomorrow in my Camaro and grab a free pizza! That's awesome.
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fast_car 1:43PM (8/25/2009)
And his pizza tastes good. Don't forget about that! I'm glad he got his car back though!
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jv2k 2:42PM (8/25/2009)
His pizza is mediocre. It tastes like all the other fast food pizza places.
Local pizzeria > papa johns, Dominos, and all the other crap. Of course I live in NY so that means I have access to good pizza.
Oluseyi 6:02PM (8/25/2009)
Too many New Yorkers overrate New York pizza. It's nothing special. In fact, a disturbing majority of Manhattan pizzerias are horrible.
Steven 1:49PM (8/25/2009)
Maybe I can get AAA to tow my 68 over there.
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Red 1:50PM (8/25/2009)
Personally, Papa John's > Dominos and Pizza Hut.
But that's just me. And I like the peppers they always give you in the box :-).
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naggs 1:55PM (8/25/2009)
pepperchinis and garlic sauce ftw
Das Borgen 1:59PM (8/25/2009)
Because of this guy's love for cars, now, whenever I can help it, I'll buy Papa John's instead of Dominos or pizza hut.......
PS: Jalopnik is the tits!!!!
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JayC 1:55PM (8/25/2009)
Very moving story. :)
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The Hit 10:40PM (8/25/2009)
I see what you did there...
RED_ 2:00PM (8/25/2009)
i thought rich people spend their money wisely? $250,000 + $25,000 is crazy. Fine if it was a little inflated over what the retail value is but that much more? If the car was worth $10000 i would probably give about $30-40k at best. And the free pizza thing is going to lose him a bit more.
i don't know why i care but just interesting to point out. I bet he could've got that care for a lot less.
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Venom 2:03PM (8/25/2009)
He is worth over $500 million.
He can do whatever he wants, lol.
It is not an investment, it is his memories.
UniBroW 2:12PM (8/25/2009)
this if anything is a very smart business move tied in with getting his love of a car back.
Hamhock 2:14PM (8/25/2009)
Consider that the $275k is a BARGAIN for the amount of publicity this story will get compared to yet another crappy corporate ad campaign that is half as funny as the stuff guys in my office come up with....