It sounds like a plot twist that only Hollywood could conceive.

With time running out before her history-making turn as the first female driver/team owner to participate in the Indianapolis 500, Sarah Fisher received last-minute sponsorship from television star Patricia Heaton and her husband, actor/director/producer David Hunt. The couple was in Indianapolis, where Heaton is serving as grand marshal of the 2008 IPL 500 Festival Parade, when they heard of Fisher’s unusual situation. Although she qualified to run in the 92nd Indy 500, her promised sponsorship from an energy drink company didn’t materialize. So Heaton, best known as the star of Everybody Loves Raymond, and her husband stepped in and stepped up.

Heaton and Hunt’s production company, FourBoys Films, have become a sponsor for Fisher and her No. 67 Honda Dallara. With just a day to go before the race, Fisher’s prospects of finding sponsorship had seemed grim.

“I’m a big fan of Everybody Loves Raymond and just to know that Patricia and David were touched by our passion for open-wheel racing is inspiring to me,” says Fisher, who starts 22nd in today’s race. Check for results at Indycar.com.