Racing Star Danica Patrick Revs Up CSI: NY

Danica Patrick is a killer competitor on the race track, but on Wednesday's CSI: NY, she might be just a killer.

Check out behind-the-scenes photos from Patrick's episode
Patrick plays Liza Gray, a Grand Prix racer who becomes the No. 1 suspect after an explosion kills a rival driver (played by guest star Antonio Sabato Jr.). Trying to clear her name, she helps Mac (Gary Sinise) and the rest of the team piece the case together.

"Obviously Danica races cars, but Antonio does as well," executive producer Pam Veasey tells TVGuide.com. "It was great to have them both on the show. They have a lot of experience behind the wheel."
See photos of the CSI: NY cast

The episode reveals that twoCSIs share the need for speed. "Mac has a fondness of racing, and so does Lindsay [Anna Belknap]," Veasey says. "Those are two characters that know a lot about racing, which no one would expect. Lindsay knows about the mechanics of a car and totally gets into racing, being a Montana girl."

Mac's love affair with racing goes back to his childhood, Vesey says, and he gets to live out his racing dreams before the episode ends.

"As a kid, [Mac] built his own soap-box derby car," Veasey says with a laugh. "So there's a little reminiscing for him and a fun little moment, in which both Mac and Stella [Melina Kanakaredes] get in the cars and race them. Our actors got to peel against some pavement and burn some rubber."
CSI: NY airs Wednesday at 10/9c on CBS. The episode may be the second-most-exciting thing to happen to Patrick this month: The only woman to ever win an IndyCar race is set to make her NASCAR debut in Daytona this weekend.