DARLINGTON, S.C. -- There it was, the break every other team on the Nextel Cup circuit had been waiting for, embodied in the small geyser of steam spitting from the overflow valve on Jeff Gordon's car. The squad that never had any trouble at the end of races was having plenty of it, with the needle on the engine temperature valve climbing into the red zone and the No. 24 Chevy literally sputtering to the finish.

Lap-by-Lap

Jeff Gordon stayed out as Jimmie Johnson pitted, and despite driving an overheating car, held the lead en route to the victory at Darlington.

• Complete story, click here
• Race Video, click here

But somehow, all the rods and pistons and rings held together, and NASCAR fans assembled at Darlington Raceway on Sunday witnessed a result similar to those they've seen all season -- other teams dominating, and Hendrick Motorsports finding a way to win. Denny Hamlin led 179 of 367 laps in the Dodge Avenger 500, but Gordon took the lead on a late pit stop and kept his smoking vehicle together until the end.

It's a familiar theme. From Atlanta and Bristol to Martinsville and Phoenix and Darlington, the year has been defined by Hendrick drivers capitalizing on other teams' mistakes. They're not dominating races, but dominating the season by leading the laps that count most -- those at the very end.

"I think that we're dominating the finishes," said Steve Letarte, Gordon's crew chief. "I don't think we're dominating the races by any means. I feel we've been outclassed on the racetrack a few times, and that's my job to fix."

But they haven't been outclassed at the end, where they've avoided the problems or misfortunes that have plagued other teams. At Atlanta, Stewart is in control until a late caution, and Jimmie Johnson leads the final two laps. At Bristol, Stewart is the class of the field until his fuel pump goes bad, and Kyle Busch wins. Dale Earnhardt Jr. clearly has the best car at Martinsville until rain comes, and Johnson surfs to Victory Lane. Stewart and Hamlin dominate at Phoenix, until late cautions help Gordon take command.

And then there was Sunday at Darlington, when lug nuts came unglued from a tire during a crucial pit stop, and scuttled Hamlin's hopes. Gordon has led 674 laps this season, more than any other driver, but only 63 laps more than Hamlin. Yet Gordon now has three race victories and the Nextel Cup points lead, while Hamlin remains winless -- and quite frustrated.

"It just goes on and on every week. It's just the same story," lamented Hamlin, who before Sunday's pit-crew miscue saw strong chances of winning derailed by a bad fuel pump at Bristol and a cross-threaded lug nut at Martinsville. "We're at a different racetrack, and I'm here talking about the exact same things."

The Hendrick boys are well aware that their level of dominance over the series is much thinner than most perceive. "We keep saying, 'We're not dominating, we're not dominating,'" Gordon said. "We're just getting the wins."

But it's more than good timing. Week to week, the Hendrick cars are strong enough to run consistently up front, and are ready to pounce when other teams slip. Gordon is one of only two drivers, along with Matt Kenseth, to have completed every lap on the Nextel Cup circuit this season. In 11 starts, the four-time champion has finished outside of the top 10 only once -- that a 12th-place result at Atlanta.

Johnson stands second in points, 231 behind his teammate, after notching his eighth finish this season of fourth or better. His car was good enough Sunday to give up the lead on a late pit stop, restart back in the field with 19 laps remaining, and charge back to take third place.

"I think we've been solid. I haven't had any speeding penalties. We had an issue at the beginning of the year when we had a couple of tires get away from us, but we've been mistake-free for the most part, and I think that's helpful. Especially when you have so many cars that are so competitive," Johnson said.

"There were six or seven cars that had a chance to win [at Darlington]. I think in the end, we just put ourselves in position by not really making any mistakes, on top of the fact that we had a really good car. But I feel our cars are equal to the rest of the guys out there. We've just been a little cleaner throughout the race weekend."

And even when they're not, they're still often good enough to win. That much was evident Sunday at Darlington, when Gordon led only the final 22 laps, all of them with steam billowing from under his hood.

"We're going to be on and we're going to be off with racecars at times," Gordon said, "but when we can perform the way we did [Sunday] with a racecar that's not capable of winning, it's got me very, very excited about this entire season."