Papa John's Classic Camaro Recovered After Dream Cruise Theft

John Schnatter sold his Camaro Z28 for $2,800 in 1984, then used the proceeds to start the Papa John’s pizza empire in the back of his father’s bar. (Photo courtesy of Papa John’s)

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

The classic 1972 Camaro Z28 that Papa John’s pizza founder John Schnatter sold for $2,800 and then bought back for more than $250,000 was recovered Monday after it was stolen during the Woodward Dream Cruise over the weekend.

The Camaro with a storied history was one of three collector cars stolen during the 21st annual Woodward Dream Cruise, billed as the largest one-day automotive event in the country. The cruise of classic cars along a 16-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue typically draws 40,000 classic cars and 1.5 million visitors.

The Camaro, used as a promotional vehicle for Schnatter’s pizza empire, was found abandoned between two boarded up homes in the 14400 block of Pierson on the city’s west side, The Detroit News reports.

Sgt. Jonathan Parnell of the Detroit Police Department’s auto theft unit said the thieves may have felt pressured to dump the Camaro after intense media coverage of the “highly marked” vehicle, which was used in Papa John’s commercials and as a race car.

Schnatter’s prized Camaro Z28 was stolen sometime after midnight Saturday from a Courtyard Marriott hotel on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. The pickup and trailer used to transport the muscle car were found about a block from the hotel.

Related:

• Dream Cruise Nightmarish for 3 Classic Car Owners

Police got a tip about the car about 9:30 a.m. Monday. It was intact and had minimal damage, police said.

Ernest Webster, a lawn maintenance worker who discovered the car and reported it to his brother-in-law, a Detroit police officer, may be in line for a $16,000 reward offered by Papa John’s.

“We are thrilled that a piece of our company’s history has been recovered, and we will continue to work with authorities during their ongoing investigation,” Papa John’s said.

Sunday’s theft was the second time the collector car has been lost to Schnatter, who sold it for $2,800 in 1984 help his father out of bankruptcy, then used the proceeds from the sale to start his pizza company out of the back of his father’s tavern.

In 2010, he paid a $25,000 finder’s fee to locate the car, then offered the owner $250,000 to regain ownership of it.

The car was impounded as evidence, and police are hoping to find clues that will lead them to the identify of the thieves. Investigators are also trying to determine whether the theft of the Papa John’s Camaro is linked to two other classic car thefts during the Dream Cruise.

“The theft of three classic vehicles within 24 hours is making us take a look at that possibility,” Parnell said. “The cars might also have been a crime of opportunity. Cars from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s didn’t have the kind of anti-theft devices that are available today, so that might also make them a more tempting target.”

Birmingham police said a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette was reported stolen Saturday afternoon. The convertible with a soft top had a custom license plate, ITSMY66, and was taken from the Park Street parking structure between 12:30 and 2 p.m.

In Bloomfield Hills, a 1966 Chevelle 300 Deluxe, along with the trailer and the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado used to transport it, were stolen from the Kingsley Inn overnight Saturday, WXYZ reports. The owner is reportedly a Vietnam veteran who worked in the auto industry. The Chevelle has a vintage 1966 North Carolina license plate with blue letters on an orange background.

Neither car has been recovered.

Bloomfield Hills Police Detective Noel Clason told The Detroit News there were other attempts in his community and in Berkley to steal classic cars. A white conversion van with a stripe has been linked to those attempts, Clason said.

Classic vehicles cruised the 16-mile stretch through nine host communities – Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac and Royal Oak.

If you know anything about the stolen cars, call Birmingham police at (248) 644-3405, Bloomfield Hills police at (248) 644-4200, or leave tips at (800) 242-HEAT.