You heard, on Wednesday, August 26th, any Camaro owner who drives to their nearest Papa John’s will be rewarded with a large one-topping pizza for free. In 1983 Papa John’s founder John Schnatter was forced to sell his beloved 1971 & 1/2 Chevy Camaro Z28 for $1,600 when his father’s Tavern was rocked by bankruptcy. With less than two grand to work with, Schnatter managed to save his dad’s business and start one of his own - a pizzeria. It’s now 3,000 locations strong in 26 countries and worth nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars. 

Needless to say, Schnatter made it bigger than the average pizza guy, big enough to eventually offer $250,000 to anyone who could return the Camaro that helped propel him to cheesy godhood. This week the decades long search came to an end. It turns out the Papa John’s Camaro had made its way to Flatwoods, Kentucky where Jeff Robinson had modified the engine to pump out 825 HP and scorch down drag strips. From Jalopnik:

According to Robinson it's now "Probably the fastest pizza delivery car in the world, it runs a 9.55 quarter-mile at 141 MPH." (1)

Now that Schnatter is finally reunited with his Camaro he’s celebrating by giving away a free pizza to anyone who drives a Camaro of their own to a Papa John's. Of course, Jeff Robinson probably won’t need anyone to spot him for pizza money anytime soon.

"Jeff loved the car and he knows I'm going to take car of it and it'll take a special place in the hearts of the people at Papa John's," Schnatter said, adding "he was kind enough to sell it for $250,000." (1) 

There’s plenty more to this story at Jalopnik, check out all the details here:

http://jalopnik.com/5344739/how-jalopnik-reunited-papa-john-with-his-camaro

*Limit of one pizza per Camaro and one Camaro per visit. 

*Anyone have a Camaro I can borrow? 

Sources: 

http://jalopnik.com/5344739/how-jalopnik-reunited-papa-john-with-his-camaro

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