10:52 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Associated Press

Emmy Award winner Kim Zimmer and the CBS soap Guiding Light hit the track this week with NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Travis Kvapil and his Tide Racing Team.

The show taped on location for two days in Hickory, N.C., at the Hickory Motor Speedway and the PPI Motorsports team race shop.

The story line revolves around Zimmer's character, Reva Shayne Lewis, and her battle with breast cancer. Thanks to encouragement from her doctor, Colin McCabe, played by Paul Fitzgerald, and Kvapil, Lewis gets the chance to take the wheel of the No. 32 Chevrolet in an attempt to prove her diagnosis will not stop her from living out her dreams.

Zimmer and several of her cast mates first met the Tide team last September at Richmond International Raceway. That raised the idea of working the team into a story line.

Several months later, the project came to fruition when Zimmer's character was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the story, Lewis remembers a list she made as a young girl that contained 10 items she wanted to do before she died. Driving a race car was one of them.

"I've never done anything like this," said Kvapil, who took Zimmer for a high-speed ride around the track. "I was given a script with lines to memorize and when it was time to roll tape, Paul and Kim really went out of their way to put me at ease. We got through all of the takes without any major hiccups.

"It was awesome. Kim really seemed to enjoy herself and Paul wants to come to a race, so I think everyone at Guiding Light is hooked on NASCAR. I am sure hooked on them. I can't wait to watch the episode."

The scenes shot at the speedway and the race shop will air on June 28.