Limit one free pizza per Camaro
Posted
Aug 25 2009, 01:51 PM
by
Des Toups
Rating:
The founder of Papa John’s Pizza really missed his Camaro. Not only is he paying $250,000 to buy it back, he’s giving away pizza Wednesday to fellow Camaro owners to celebrate.
"Papa" John Schnatter sold his 1971 Z28 Camaro more than 25 years ago to help his father’s tavern stay afloat and ultimately launch Papa John's, today the world’s third-largest pizza company. Schnatter earlier this year decided to reward himself by finding the car he gave up, offering first a $25,000 "finder's fee" to the person who could produce the title to his long-lost Camaro, and later $250,000 to whomever could produce the title and transfer the car.
Now Schnatter’s Z28 is coming home to Louisville, Ky. And Jeff Robinson, from nearby Flatwoods, Ky. (pop. 7,605) is $250,000 richer. The company has also extended a $25,000 reward offer to the family who originally bought the car from Schnatter in 1983, in appreciation for their help in linking the contest winner with Papa John's. (Classic-car auctions have seen prices as high as $110,000 for a 1971 Z28 Camaro, but most sales prices are considerably lower.)
Robinson, who has owned the car since 2004, learned last week that he in fact might have Schnatter's car. The family who originally purchased the car heard about the contest and began searching for details online, ultimately directing them to Matt Hardigree, associate editor of Jalopnik.com, a Web site devoted to automotive news and gossip. Hardigree investigated the details himself then contacted Papa John's with the lead.
The company spent last week confirming the authenticity of the Camaro, including verifying title with the Kentucky Division of Motor Vehicles, pulling ownership records, and finally tracing the "out of state transfer" back to the state of Indiana where records indicated the car's previous owner as Robert Schnatter, John's father.
In celebration, Papa John's will offer a free large, one-topping pizza on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to Camaro owners. To redeem, Camaro owners must arrive at their nearby Papa John's restaurant in their Camaro to order and pick up their free pizza. Limit one pizza per Camaro, and one visit per Camaro. Here's a restaurant locator.
