Four-Peat: Wyoming’s Double Dub’s Wins Top Award At Buffalo Wing Fest — Again

Laramie, Wyoming’s Trent Weitzel and his Double Dub’s chicken wing crew are in a class by themselves. On Sunday, they won the top award at the National Buffalo Wing Festival for an unprecedented fourth straight time.

AJ
Anna-Louise Jackson

September 01, 20256 min read

The Double Dub's crew celebrates another successful festival with a total of four awards this year. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
The Double Dub's crew celebrates another successful festival with a total of four awards this year. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily) (Anna-Louise Jackson)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Trent Weitzel and his crew from Weitzel’s Wings — aka Double Dub’s — in Laramie have pulled off an unprecedented feat Sunday: winning Festival Favorite for the fourth straight year at the National Buffalo Wing Festival.

The growing Wyoming food truck franchise once again swept the competition in the wing capital of the world, marking the first four-peat of the top prize in more than two decades of this festival.

Double Dub’s also won plenty of other bling, and will bring home trophies for three of its sauces this year — KSS Big Mac, Sofrito Loco and BBQ.

It was an emotional win for Weitzel, who said he was nervous ahead of the final announcement because he’s very competitive.

He opened his first wing food truck in 2013 after experimenting with sauce recipes with his childhood friend, Dallas Lopez, who now runs the company’s Rock Springs food truck.

“It’s a big accomplishment for me,” Weitzel said. “It’s not about me, it’s about the crew — it’s all them, they did everything.”

“Winning it is huge,” added Lopez. “It means your booth was attended more than anyone else.”

That popularity can create some challenges.

Double Dub’s ran out of chicken wings several times throughout the two-day festival. Its supply of KSS Big Mac sauce also was completely depleted with nearly three hours left in Sunday’s festivities.

Invented by Weitzel’s daughter, the Big Mac sauce won second place for Best Craft Wing, while BBQ won first place.

Now, the Wyoming wing king has amassed 22 trophies from the festival over the course of a six-year run.

Weitzel said he will reassess whether Double Dub’s returns to compete next year — or passes the torch to the next Festival Favorite. 

“I may come back in a different capacity next year,” Weitzel said, adding that such options might include being a festival sponsor or judge.

  • The Double Dub's crew celebrates another successful festival with a total of four awards this year.
    The Double Dub's crew celebrates another successful festival with a total of four awards this year. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Double Dub's brought a "skeleton" crew this year, that also included its giant iron skeletal chicken mascot.
    Double Dub's brought a "skeleton" crew this year, that also included its giant iron skeletal chicken mascot. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Is this a Buffalo Bills game or a Buffalo Wing Festival? It's sometimes hard to tell.
    Is this a Buffalo Bills game or a Buffalo Wing Festival? It's sometimes hard to tell. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Double Dub's wasn't the only repeat winner on Sunday: Craig Healy won the XXX Hot Wing Eating Contest two days in a row. That's right, he did that crazy eating contest back-to-back, as did many other contestants.
    Double Dub's wasn't the only repeat winner on Sunday: Craig Healy won the XXX Hot Wing Eating Contest two days in a row. That's right, he did that crazy eating contest back-to-back, as did many other contestants. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Kevin Potter, right, has a love of wings that's so intense that he even dives into the backstories of the wingmakers themselves. "I know so much about [Wetzel] and he doesn’t know my name,” he said. But after this introduction, Wetzel just might.
    Kevin Potter, right, has a love of wings that's so intense that he even dives into the backstories of the wingmakers themselves. "I know so much about [Wetzel] and he doesn’t know my name,” he said. But after this introduction, Wetzel just might. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Trent Lopez enjoys seeing how many Buffalo Bills fans show up to the festival in Wyoming gear.
    Trent Lopez enjoys seeing how many Buffalo Bills fans show up to the festival in Wyoming gear. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Demand for the KSS Big Mac wings was so intense that the Double Dub's team ran out of the sauce with three hours left in the festival.
    Demand for the KSS Big Mac wings was so intense that the Double Dub's team ran out of the sauce with three hours left in the festival. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • It's now later in the second day of the festival and the crowds offer a glimpse of which tent may win "Festival Favorite." (Hint: Double Dub's won for the fourth year in a row.)
    It's now later in the second day of the festival and the crowds offer a glimpse of which tent may win "Festival Favorite." (Hint: Double Dub's won for the fourth year in a row.) (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Tyler Mastin lives in Buffalo but you might not know it based on his jersey choice.
    Tyler Mastin lives in Buffalo but you might not know it based on his jersey choice. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • The festival's not enough for Matt and Nicole Martin, aka Bills Wonder Woman, who ordered a tray of 100 wings from Double Dub's to take home.
    The festival's not enough for Matt and Nicole Martin, aka Bills Wonder Woman, who ordered a tray of 100 wings from Double Dub's to take home. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Trent Wetzel, center, spends much of the festival meeting with people who seek out his tent and taking photos.
    Trent Wetzel, center, spends much of the festival meeting with people who seek out his tent and taking photos. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • It's mid-day on the second day of the National Buffalo Wing Festival and the line for Double Dub's is now very packed.
    It's mid-day on the second day of the National Buffalo Wing Festival and the line for Double Dub's is now very packed. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • Though he rocked a University of Wyoming jersey to the festival, Scott Barrow isn't from the Cowboy State but he did get to try the wings that have put Wyoming on the wing map. "I think it's great they make the trip out here," he said of the Double Dub's crew.
    Though he rocked a University of Wyoming jersey to the festival, Scott Barrow isn't from the Cowboy State but he did get to try the wings that have put Wyoming on the wing map. "I think it's great they make the trip out here," he said of the Double Dub's crew. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • If there's any doubt how much Buffalo loves wings, just check out the outfits of the winners of the "Baby Wing" contest.
    If there's any doubt how much Buffalo loves wings, just check out the outfits of the winners of the "Baby Wing" contest. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • A skeleton crew from the various Double Dub's locations came out this year, with founder Trent Wetzel arriving in an old school bus that he strategically parked right in front of the festival entrance.
    A skeleton crew from the various Double Dub's locations came out this year, with founder Trent Wetzel arriving in an old school bus that he strategically parked right in front of the festival entrance. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)
  • The line at the Double Dub's tent was long, no matter the time each festival day, but the crew was able to dole out some 800 wings in a matter of minutes.
    The line at the Double Dub's tent was long, no matter the time each festival day, but the crew was able to dole out some 800 wings in a matter of minutes. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)

The Road To Buffalo

Double Dub’s domination at the wing festival wouldn’t be possible if not for a Hail Mary from Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills quarterback and reigning NFL MVP.

The first year that Weitzel applied for inclusion in the festival, he boasted that Double Dub’s would take home the Rookie of the Year award to Drew Creza, the guy who came up with this crazy festival back in the early 2000s.

But as has become Buffalo wing mythology, Creza turned down Weitzel more than once — each time asking whether Double Dub’s had a brick-and-mortar location, a stipulation for entry.

That didn’t stop Weitzel from trying.

He recalled dialing Creza on a whim while out running his horse in 2019 and Creza immediately knew who was calling because Weitzel is the only person he knows with a 307 area code.

After more back-and-forth about the food truck hurdle, Weitzel finally did something he has sought to do very, very rarely: He name-dropped Josh Allen, by then the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills whose favorite food while a student at the University of Wyoming was the Spicy Bleu wings from Double Dub’s.

Now the Spicy Bleu is on the menu as the No. 17, the number Allen wore at UW and wears for the Bills.

Creza told Weitzel that if he could get Allen to vouch for the food truck in some way, he’d reconsider. 

“So, I called Josh and said, ‘I really need a favor,’” Weitzel recalled.

One 30-minute call from the NFL superstar later, and Creza had changed his tune, and the rest is now history.

“Kudos to Trent for building that relationship,” the festival founder said.

While Allen may have gotten Double Dub’s to the festival, Weitzel and his attention to detail and creativity have earned a national reputation as one of the elite Buffalo wing cooks in the U.S.

100 Wings For Wonder Woman

Weitzel has likewise built relationships with people all over the country thanks to the festival.

When Weitzel spotted Bills Wonder Woman, aka Buffalonian Nicole Martin, he asked if the Buffalo Bills Super Fan would be getting the usual: a tray of 100 wings that Martin and her husband, Matt, take home from the Double Dub’s truck each year.

“Double Dub’s is our favorite,” she said, adding that the couple opted for 50 Spicy Bleu, 25 KSS Big Mac, and 25 of a dry rub.

The locally hired security guards working the event also are excited to see the Double Dub’s military green truck pull in, while some people make a trek to Buffalo just for a once-a-year taste at this wing-a-palooza.

It’s Kevin Potter’s eighth trip to the festival from New Jersey, and this year he’s with a friend group that’s about 10 deep.

The mere mention of Double Dub’s causes Potter’s face to light up — it’s his favorite because of the sauces (especially the KSS Big Mac) and Weitzel’s obvious passion for his craft.

“I know so much about the owner [Weitzel] and he doesn’t know my name,” Potter said.

But thanks to the assistance of an intrepid reporter, Potter is a stranger no more to Weitzel and was able to tell the wingmaker face-to-face how much he loves Double Dub’s — and plead for him to come back for another year.

Even if Double Dub’s doesn’t return to compete next year, Potter will be back.

“This is my favorite holiday,” he said. “I’ll come here for the rest of my life.”

Watch on YouTube

An Allen Assist

Weitzel’s life has also changed with the fame that comes with being a beloved wingmaker. People stop and ask for a photo or to shake his hand.

In total, he will spend about 10 days in Buffalo this year, and they are grueling days.

In addition to all the prep that goes into coming here, there’s the actual journey — a 1,500-mile road trip each way in a converted school bus.

Weitzel strategically parked the bus right outside the entrance to the festival, which is a psychological ploy of sorts, Lopez said. 

Strategically located just inside the entrance to Sahlen Field, Double Dub’s was often the first wing spot many people came upon when entering this year’s festival, offering a much-needed way to satiate their long overdue taste of a Double Dub’s signature wing.

The crew might hand out 800 wings in a matter of minutes, and because he was serving most of Saturday, Lopez offered another indicator of how busy their booth was.

When he returned to his Airbnb on Saturday night, his phone still had a 92% charge. 

Still, Weitzel feels very grateful to be back and for all of the success the Double Dub’s crew has enjoyed over its six-year run. And he’s quick to praise a certain NFL superstar for helping make much of this possible.

“If Josh Allen went anywhere else (for college), we wouldn’t be here,” Weitzel said.

Added Lopez: “Josh brought us to the door, but we kicked it in.”

Anna-Louise Jackson can be reached at: jackson.anna@gmail.com

For the first time in festival history, Double Dub's got a four-peat and will bring home the trophy for "Festival Favorite," which is based on how many tickets for wings it collected over the course of two days.
For the first time in festival history, Double Dub's got a four-peat and will bring home the trophy for "Festival Favorite," which is based on how many tickets for wings it collected over the course of two days. (Anna-Louise Jackson for Cowboy State Daily)

Authors

AJ

Anna-Louise Jackson

Writer