KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A.J. Allmendinger could pursue a return to open-wheel racing, a discipline in which he won five times in the season before he jumped to NASCAR. But after all the struggles, the crashes, the failed qualifying attempts, even being pulled from his ride for a while so his team could figure things out, he believes he's poured too much of himself into Sprint Cup competition to bail out now.

Allmendinger will split from the Red Bull Racing Team possibly as early as next week, opening up a seat in the organization's No. 84 car that will presumably go to current Craftsman Truck Series driver Scott Speed in 2009. The former rookie of the year in the defunct Champ Car series said Friday at Kansas Speedway that a return to open-wheel racing is a possibility, but he clearly doesn't want to give up on a NASCAR odyssey that he began in late 2006.

"I definitely want to stay in Cup," he said. "I've got offers to go back to IndyCar possibly, but I've clawed and scratched way too long, and felt like my life was ending so many times over the last year and a half. To finally get this and start running up front, I don't want to give that up. I'm definitely looking at staying here. I think I will. We've just got to find the right situation."

That situation may be at Chip Ganassi Racing, which is looking for a driver to replace Gillett Evernham-bound Reed Sorenson for next season. Sources indicate that Allmendinger and Red Bull talked about a possible one-year extension, but at the same time the driver was negotiating a multi-year agreement with Ganassi, a deal Red Bull urged him to take. That agreement has yet to be finalized. "He's got a lot of great race teams, a lot of great background in auto racing," Allmendinger said Friday of Ganassi.

Even so, it's a bittersweet parting. After making only 17 races in a rocky rookie season and being replaced by Mike Skinner for four events earlier this year, Allmendinger has made 20 consecutive races, cracked the top 35 in owner points, and finished 20th or better nine times. The breakup was by mutual agreement, according to a release issued by the Red Bull team earlier this week.

"I'd definitely liked to have stayed with the team and built on what we're building on," he said, "but it's a part of life. I'm not the first person this has happened to in this sport, and I'm not going to be the last. Like I said, by what they've done with this team, it's allowed me to run up front and at least get noticed and have all the media and teams contact me. So I can't be mad about it."

Although the announcement said Allmendinger and Red Bull would part for the 2009 season, the separation will likely happen much sooner than that. Allmendinger is in the No. 84 at Kansas, but said nothing has been decided beyond this weekend. In addition to the 10 starts Speed has made this season in the trucks, he's also the points leader in the ARCA series, which will compete as a companion event to the Sprint Cup tour next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. But Speed has never driven in a restrictor-plate event, and is only approved by NASCAR to attempt Sprint Cup events on 1.5-mile tracks or smaller.

That makes Skinner, who replaced Allmendinger for four races earlier this season, a more viable option for the Alabama track. Red Bull executives will meet Monday to formulate a plan for Talladega. Could we see Speed in a Sprint Cup car before the year is out? "It's possible," said team vice president Jay Frye, who added that Red Bull won't do anything to compromise Speed's chances of winning the ARCA title. Regardless, it seems likely that Allmendinger and Red Bull will separate before the year is out.

That makes Skinner a more viable option for the Alabama track. Regardless, Allmendinger and Red Bull vice president Jay Frye have talked about separating before the year is out.

"[Frye] offered and I asked about possibly parting ways this year if I had something else to go to," Allmendinger said, "because that would help me get a jump start on next year. It would help Red Bull get a jump start on whatever their program is going to be next year. But I don't know. I'm just looking at this weekend for right now."

And he's not looking to go back to open-wheel.

"For everybody who's seen what I've had to go through over the last year and a half, I'm definitely not going to give up," Allmendinger said. "I've figured this out. I've shown that I can run up front. More than anything, it's just I'm there to do whatever it takes, whether it's be at the shop, be in the car every day of my life, work had hard as I can. I think my commitment level is more than you will see out of anybody. There's still a lot I need to learn about there racecars, and I'm wiling to do that."