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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Mark Martin relishes what he calls his "second childhood" at age 50. Winning and driving for car owner Rick Hendrick will change anyone's outlook, even someone once known as much for pained expressions and a pessimistic attitude.

Martin is almost giddy these days.

For him. He punctuated his victory in Saturday night's Southern 500 with a simple cool-down lap and low-key celebration after exiting the car. His team was more exuberant.

Martin's win continues Hendrick's dominance and leads to questions about why rivals Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing hasn't kept pace.

Six of the top seven finishers in Saturday's race at Darlington Raceway drove Hendrick equipment, including third-place finisher Tony Stewart and fourth-place finisher Ryan Newman. Both drive for Stewart-Haas Racing, which gets chassis, engines and technical support from Hendrick. Jimmie Johnson finished second to his teammate Martin despite driving a backup car.

Hendrick equipment has taken 67 percent of the top-five finishing positions in the last six races. Four of those tracks --Talladega, Phoenix, Texas and Martinsville -- will host races in the Chase.

"They have reached the pinnacle &ellipses; of making things happen," Fox Sports analyst Jeff Hammond says.

Hendrick's success isn't new. Two years ago, Hendrick cars won half the 36 races, but last year both Roush and Gibbs scored more wins than Hendrick's team.

The balance this year -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only driver among Hendrick's five who hasn't won this season -- is about as strong as in the organization's history.

"It just shows how much hard work and effort has gone in all these years of the development of the (car) &ellipses; and the Hendrick chassis and engine program," says Darian Grubb, an engineer and crew chief at Hendrick before becoming Stewart's crew chief this season.

Hendrick's equipment has played a role in Stewart-Haas Racing's success.

"They're doing what they should in that position, they're utilizing those resources that we all worked hard for," Jeff Gordon says.

Others haven't been as successful. Since Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 and at California to open the season, Roush Fenway Racing has not been as strong. Greg Biffle led the most laps Saturday night before he spun. He finished eighth. That was after a tap from him wrecked teammate Carl Edwards.

Other times this year, pit road problems have hurt Roush's teams.

Roush cars have only three top-five finishes in the last six races. That's better than Gibbs' team, which two top-fives, although one is a victory by Kyle Busch.

Other than the victory at Richmond, Busch has not finished better than 17th in five of his last six races. Denny Hamlin finished 13th Saturday, the fourth time in the last five races he's placed outside the top 10.

"We've had a so-so year by my standards," Hamlin said before Saturday's race. "Even though we don't necessarily always race for wins, we race for championships. That's what matters.''

Martin, still seeking his first Cup title, doesn't claim to be burdened by that. He's enjoying the season too much.

"I am a different person,'' he says.

"I still think that I'm cautious about what I set myself up for, but I know I'm going to have some fun.''

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com