Seems like a sound theory to me. After reading your piece about the trucks, it occurred to me that if racecar drivers have any hesitation or inkling of doubt, they're likely to become rickybobby-toast.
Ricky-Bobby running around on fire. best part of the movie. Ayrton Senna comes to mind, he did things with an F1 car that no one has matched. He was also bat-shit religious, but in a good way, he thought of himself as chosen, but kept fairly quiet about it. Along with that came no fear of death, to the point that his friends and family were concerned for him. Alain Prost tried to talk sense into him several times. The documentary "Senna" is on Netflix, good flick even for non-race fans. I have when riding at speed had stray moments of thought, that proved, sphincter-clenching. That's why I love riding, it forces you to be in the moment, and when I stop there is always that grin.