Tony Stewart pulled the exact same move last week at Talladega!
I owuld say he exhibited great presence of mind. Most criminals are in a panic durng a chase and aren't able to be that in control of the situation.
That said, it's not that hard to pull a half-cab in a car (starting going backwards and do a half spin to end up going forward). However in that situation he had nerves of steel. The same kind of personality you want in a QB leading you down the field with 2 minutes to go, down by 6 in the Super Bowl.
What killed him was lack of horsepower.