If you've eaten a Papa John's pizza in the last year, you know, thanks to the top of the pizza box, that John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John's, had to sell his prized 1972 Camaro Z28 in order to keep his newly formed business above water. And you know how much he misses that car.

Ever since "Papa" John hit the big time, he's been searching for his original Camaro, going so far as to commission a replica Z28 to cope with the loss of his dream car. The good news is that after many years of searching, he has been reunited with his first, beloved car. And to celebrate, Papa John's is giving all Camaro owners a free pizza on August 26. Dudes! That's today!

If you happen to own a Camaro, fire it up and go on down to your local Papa John's and collect your free large one-topping pie. The offer is limited to one pizza per Camaro, one visit per Camaro and is good at any Papa John's location -- so long as you pick up the pizza in your Camaro.

Pizza-loving Camaro owners aren't the only winners in this story. The search for this elusive Camaro has been going on for some time now and John Schnatter was serious about finding it. So, like anyone with the bucks to back up his desire, he put up some serious cash as a reward. When his original $25,000 reward failed to turn up his baby, Schantter upped his offer to $250,000 for the successful return of his '72 Camaro.

After the couple who purchased the car off of him back in 1983 heard of the search, they were able to get in touch with Schnatter through Jalopnik, a car blog which had previously covered the search. It turns out the car had only seen two owners since it was first sold by John (thankfully none of them a teenager), and it was ultimately returned to him in excellent condition. For their help in tracking down the current owner, the Slone family received $25,000. And Jeff Robinson, who had modified the Camaro for drag racing, was able to sell the Z28 back to Papa John's for $250,000.

Talk about a totally bitchin' ending to this Camaro tale.

If you own a Camaro, gather up your friends and tell them that dinner's on you tonight! Don't forget to thank Papa while you're at it.