Could NASCAR be jumping ship to Sirius a year early? We all know, NASCAR will be dumping XM Satellite Radio and will be hoping on board with Sirius Satellite Radio in 2007. Or so we thought.

According to an article in the NASCAR Notebook,

"NASCAR's new satellite network radio deal with Sirius may kick off sooner than originally planned, according to NASCAR sources who say Sirius may buy out the last year of XM Radio's contract and take over the exclusive NASCAR franchise."

Since the five-year agreement with Sirius was for $107.5 Million, I can only assume that the one-year early buyout would be for a minimum of $21.5 Million.

No official word yet, so for now I'll file this as a rumor until more information comes to light.