There’s something burning at Papa John’s — and it’s not coming from the kitchen.

Estranged founder John Schnatter sued the pizza chain on Thursday to force it to hand over documents that he believes will exonerate him from the n-word public relations hell he finds himself in.

Schnatter, who founded the chain 34 years ago, also feels the documents will help explain his comments last fall about how the national anthem protest by NFL players was hurting the chain’s sales.

Papa John’s at the time was a high-profile sponsor of the league.

“The Company is hiding documents that, we believe, will disclose the actual facts as to what is occurring here, including using Mr. Schnatter as a scapegoat to cover up their own shortcomings and failures,” the suit alleges.

Schnatter claims he has been treated in a “heavy-handed way since the publication of a story that falsely accused him of using a racial slur,” according to the complaint, filed in the Chancery court of Delaware.

Papa John’s is railroading him out of the Louisville, Ky.-based company and may have been trying to do so since last November, the complaint alleges, alluding to his NFL players protest comments.

The NFL dropped the chain as a sponsor.

In January, Schnatter stepped down as chief executive as a result of the flap over his NFL remarks, In July he stepped down as chairman after news of his racial slur surfaced — a slur he admitted he used.

“We are saddened and disappointed that John Schnatter has filed a needless and wasteful lawsuit in an attempt to distract from his own words and actions,” the company said in a statement.