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Papa John's founder finds his beloved 1971 Camaro

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Any way you slice it (pun intended), this is a fun story!

Papa John's founder finds his beloved 1971 Camaro

The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:30 AM EDT
In this August 24, 2009 handout photo released by Papa John's Pizza, John Schnatter,... (AP Photo/Papa Johns Pizza)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The founder of the Papa John's pizza chain has finally reunited with the muscle car he sold years ago to help keep his family's business afloat.





John Schnatter sold the gold-and-black 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for $2,800 in 1983. The money helped save his father's tavern in Jeffersonville, Ind., and he used the rest to start what would become a worldwide pizza business.
But he still missed his beloved Camaro and spent years searching for it. He created a Web site on the search, held promotional appearances and eventually offered $250,000 to whoever found it.
It turns out he didn't have to leave Kentucky, where the pizza chain is based in Louisville. The car only changed hands twice from the original buyers, ending up with Jeffery Robinson in Flatwoods, about 165 miles to the east.
"When I first saw it I still wanted to look it over to make sure it was the car even though I knew it," Schnatter told The Associated Press. "That kind of hit me emotionally. I was kind of numb."
The original buyers of Schnatter's car heard about the search when he appeared in a TV interview before an NFL game this month. An online search led them to the car blog Jalopnik, which has followed the search and tipped off Papa John's.
Robinson, who bought the car about five years ago for $4,000, recently delivered the Camaro to Schnatter, earning the $250,000 reward. The original buyers will get $25,000 for their help tracking it down.
Schnatter says it looks very much the same as it did when he sold it in 1983, but with a larger motor and fatter tires for drag racing.
The car will be displayed at the company headquarters in Louisville, replacing a replica Schnatter commissioned while he searched for his original car.
In honor of the reunion, Papa John's planned to offer all Camaro owners a free pizza at stores on Wednesday.
 
Really, I think this is very cool. How many of us would love to have the means to go search out that one special car that we have said, "Geez, I wish I'd kept my old ______________." Fill in the blank.

Too bad Kris didn't have her Camaro already .... that would have been a fun run! And she already knows how to use an old pizza box ...
 
LOL! That was funny, RA!! And she could even get a free pizza on Wednesday!!

I think all of us would be happy to have that "one" car (or any other vehicle) back in our garage.....

I graduated high school in the early 80's. One of the wealthier kids in school had a new Trans Am (1981). You know- the one with the giant bird on the hood? There were even lights in the scoop on the hood that faced the driver! WOW!! My other favorite car would be a 1969 Firebird (convertible). We saw one at Woodward. My parents' friends daughter married a guy who had one; they drove away from the church in it. It was a beautiful red and in GREAT condition!

Of course, I wouldn't turn down any Corvette! I love the new Vettes.. or the 90's Vettes... or the 80's Vettes.. or the early 70's Vettes... or the late 60's Vettes... or the early 60's Vettes... you get the idea!
 
LOL! That was funny, RA!! And she could even get a free pizza on Wednesday!!

I think all of us would be happy to have that "one" car (or any other vehicle) back in our garage.....

I graduated high school in the early 80's. One of the wealthier kids in school had a new Trans Am (1981). You know- the one with the giant bird on the hood? There were even lights in the scoop on the hood that faced the driver! WOW!! My other favorite car would be a 1969 Firebird (convertible). We saw one at Woodward. My parents' friends daughter married a guy who had one; they drove away from the church in it. It was a beautiful red and in GREAT condition!

Of course, I wouldn't turn down any Corvette! I love the new Vettes.. or the 90's Vettes... or the 80's Vettes.. or the early 70's Vettes... or the late 60's Vettes... or the early 60's Vettes... you get the idea!
Great looking car. Yea vettes its a life changing event. I cant get enough of mind.:cool:

Fred:)
 

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