Mr. 5X vs. Mr. 1X: Double-hitter?

Jimmie Johnson’s popularity will reach an all-time high this weekend.

The driver is maligned by Sprint Cup fans for winning too much including the last five Cup championships and catches grief for being a laid-back dude from Southern California.

But he will be loved this weekend at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

First, he will drive a car owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Saturday’s Nationwide race. No one boos anything that Junior’s involved with.

Second, he was ready for a throwdown with Kurt Busch after Sunday’s race at Pocono, Pa., and blasted Kurt on Friday.

Kurt, the 2004 Cup champ, thought Jimmie intentionally tried to ram him late in the race. Afterward, Jimmie went to discuss it while Kurt sat in his car and the matter seemed to be settled.

When Jimmie walked away from Kurt’s car, Kurt got out and said something to Jimmie’s back that Jimmie didn’t like.

So here’s some of what Jimmie said in a routine news conference Friday at The Glen:

"When he got out of the car, we're talking, and the crowd started to build and his bravery started to build. I walk away and he keeps talking. That's the part that frustrates me. That's when you saw me engage like that. If you're going to say something, say it to a man's face.

"I don't know about you, but that really makes me mad. He just started running his mouth. ...

"There's no secret about it that there's no love lost between the two of us. ...

“At the end of the day, I'm not going to let him run his mouth."

Kurt’s scheduled weekly conference for drivers in the top 10 is scheduled for Saturday.

Pocono’s loss 200 miles in ’12 not enough
Pocono Raceway will shorten its two annual Sprint Cup races to 400 miles from 500 miles starting in 2012 on its 2.5-mile triangular track.

That’s a start.

Now cut back to one race a year and sell the other one to Bruton Smith so he can move it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Up in smoke
Trevor Lysne and Jerome David Frey apparently were the Cheech and Chong of NASCAR.

The Earnhardt Ganassi Racing crew members were fired by the team after being arrested and charged with trafficking in marijuana last week.

Lysne was a tire changer and Frey a mechanic for Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 team.

The duo was arrested Tuesday after Huntersville, N.C., police seized 10.5 pounds of marijuana that had been shipped from California.

Lysne was charged with trafficking marijuana, maintaining a dwelling to sell a controlled substance and being in possession with intent to distribute and sell marijuana.

Frey was charged with one count of trafficking marijuana and one count of intent to sell and distribute marijuana.

Team owner Chip Ganassi said in a statement he has a zero tolerance policy and was disappointed by the arrests.

The incident made Junior Johnson yearn for the good old days of moonshine running.