MARTINSVILLE, Va. – There was arguably no driver on Friday at Martinsville Speedway who was happier to be at the tight half-mile paper clip than 37-year-old veteran Timothy Peters.

Peters, a long-time fixture of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, was relegated to a near-afterthought last season after funding dried up at Red Horse Racing and team owner Tom DeLoach closed the doors on the only full-time Truck team that Peters had ever driven for.

Though Peters was able to put together deals to run three selected races later in the season – one for MDM Motorsports and two for Young’s Motorsports – his options appeared limited and he returned his focus to working with the Barry Nelson-owned late model team that was, and is, close to his heart.

Then came a call from veteran owner Ricky Benton, and Peters’ course changed again as he returned to the national stage for a shot to race at the track he considers his home venue.

Peters will drive the No. 92 Black’s Tire & Wheel/Carquest Ford F-150 for Benton at Martinsville this weekend, looking to recapture the same magic that brought him his first Truck Series win at the historic short track in 2009.

But even beyond that, the joy of being home and in a driver’s suit was evident for Peters as he roamed the garage Friday.

“The number one thing is that I’m just glad to be back,” Peters said. “This is my first start of the year and I love this race track. I cut my teeth around here on tracks like this in late model stocks … so it means a lot to come back to a place that I call home and I can’t wait to get out there and mix it up.”

Peters has been a part of the Truck Series for many years, but sitting out most of last season admittedly had him questioning if another major-league opportunity would come along.

Those thoughts were quickly extinguished, however, when his deal for Martinsville came together.

“When I got the call from Ricky (Benton), it made me feel good to know that there are people out there that think I can still get the job done. I don’t feel like that’s a (prominent) thought for people, but it’s just the way that the business is now.”

“Ricky has done a lot for racing across the board and he and I have been friends for a long time. I actually raced a late model stock car with him before, and between late models, Pro Cup, Trucks, Xfinity and Cup … he’s had a lot of success and contributed to many garages. So it felt good to get that phone call, to jump back into a truck and to do it here at home. With my time having been focused for a while on our late model team and making it better, this kind of a chance is something I’m really thankful for.”