Terry Cook in the cockpit of the No. 59 Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra. (David M. Vaughn Photo)

Terry Cook has had plenty of opportunities to think about what winning this weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway would mean to him and his Martinsville-based HT Motorsports racing team.

"I drive to the race shop at least once a week from Charlotte and each time I drive right by Martinsville Speedway," said Cook. "Every time I drive by, I think about winning there. There's a lot of NASCAR history at Martinsville dating all the way back to the 1940s. So many great drivers have competed and won there. They give away a lot of special trophies there. It's a great tradition.

"Throw in the fact that our shop is in Martinsville, just 15 minutes from the Speedway, and winning there would be very, very special," Cook continued. "That truly would be a hometown win. It would be great to celebrate after completing the winning truck teardown with a party all night long back at our shop."

Cook has had 13 previous Martinsville Truck Series starts with a third-place finish in 2001 as his best effort. According to the driver of the No. 59 HT Motorsports Toyota (below right), the .526-mile Martinsville oval - the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit - is one where everyone has a chance to win.

"A place like Martinsville tends to even everyone out because it's good old short-track style racing," said Cook. "It's not a 1.5- or two-mile racetrack where a team might not be competitive because they don't have the best aero package. Teams know that a truck with good, mechanical grip is going to be the hot tip at Martinsville."

Historically, Martinsville is also a place where there's plenty of opportunity to get in trouble. Last year, Cook was able to manage a 19th-place finish avoiding the 16 caution flags that slowed the race for 87 of its 250 laps.

"There's a lot of bumping and rooting around in the corners and if you have a bad truck, you're the one who is going to be on the wrong end of a lot of that," said Cook. "You understand that is going to happen at almost any short track, but at Martinsville, it's hard to keep that to a minimum. As the race goes on, there seems to be plenty of cautions that keep a lot of trucks on the lead lap. Unfortunately, a lot of brains become unattached in the last 50 laps and then it really gets wild. People start pushing the envelope and that's when tempers really get to flaring."

After the first three races of the 2007 season, Cook (267 points) is an uncharacteristic 25th in the Truck Series championship chase. Eighth in the final NCTS championship standings a year ago, the Sylvania, OH driver is hoping a good run at Martinsville Saturday will give him and his HT Motorsports team a big boost in the standings.

"We're just 91 points out of the Top-10 in the standings," Cook stated. "That's not a lot of points and you can make up a lot of positions in the standings early in the season with a good run. Like I said - Martinsville is home for the team - so jump starting our season there would be great for us."