Peters lives in Danville, Va., 30 miles east of the track, and claims Providence, N.C. — 20 miles to the south — as his hometown. The win came in his 64th truck series start.

"I'm at a loss for words," said Peters, who started 11th. "It's just so special right now."

Peters made a pit stop during a lap-34 caution period and stayed on the track the rest of the way in the Kroger 200. He inherited the lead when Denny Hamlin pitted in the 117th lap then sweated out the closing moments of the race, hoping to have enough fuel to last to the end.

Peters has experience in winning at the .526-mile track, having claimed a NASCAR Late Model Stock victory at Martinsville in 2005.

"Four years is a long time," Peters said, "especially when you come off Saturday night short tracks and used to winning week in and week out."

Todd Bodine finished second and Colin Braun third.

Points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. had a roller-coaster ride to fourth place, recovering from an early pit-road penalty for speeding to stretch his points lead over ninth-finishing Matt Crafton. His 224-point lead is the widest margin with four races left in the history of the truck series.

"This is one hurdle we had to jump and we jumped it," said Hornaday, who was one of several drivers to congratulate Peters on his victory by dousing him with water. "When those other guys came and got tires, I thought we were a sitting duck, but it was a good call."

Mike Skinner, who started from the pole for the 50th time in his 200th truck series start, failed to make up ground after a wreck knocked him out of the top five with 32 laps left. He finished 23rd.

Kevin Harvick, the winner here in the spring, rallied after a flat tire in the 63rd lap to finish fifth. Hamlin, who led 62 laps before his final pit stop, was sixth.

The race started nearly two hours late after persistent showers soaked the track, scrubbing the final practice for the Sprint Cup tour.

Enlarge By Steve Helber, AP Timothy Peters waves the checkered flag after his first truck series victory at Martinsville Speedway.