Sure, lots of guys miss their first car.  

Plenty of us romanticize an old pile of Detroit steel that, if our memories were more honest, did zero-to-sixty in four tries and left us stranded on a lot of cold mornings. But John Schnatter has all of us beat, forever. 

He combed the country looking for his first love for years.  And now that he's found it, he wants us to share in his joy.

At least, he wants fellow Camaro lovers to share.

The AP explains, "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." 

That business, the Papa John's pizza chain, did well - eventually expanding to more than 3,000 locations in 26 countries.  But Schnatter missed the car.  He "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."

He located the car, at last, through the auto enthusiast website Jalopnik.  A reader of the site, Jalopnik explains, "found our original story and the details sounded familiar so they reached out to us on our Facebook page." The reader was able to direct Jalopnik's editors to the man who had bought the car from him years later.  The third owner still has the car - though in somewhat modified condition.  The man, Jalopnik explains, "had seriously upgraded the motor for drag racing and it was now putting out 825 HP." 

Schnatter bought the car back, the AP reports, for $250,000.  "The original buyers will also get $25,000 for their help tracking it down."

To celebrate the return of the car, Schnatter is giving away free pizza.  A second post at Jalopnik explains, "According to the Papa John's corporate office, any Camaro owner who drives to their nearest Papa John's restaurant will get a large one-topping pizza for free. This only applies tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26th, and there is a limit of one pizza per Camaro and one Camaro per visit."

There is no word on whether Schnatter will deliver any of the pies in what is surely the world's fastest pizza delivery vehicle.  The upgraded Camaro, Jalopnik reports, "runs a 9.55 quarter-mile at 141 MPH."

If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.