Why would they put a wheel release?

F1 cars follow a guideline stating that the driver must be able to exit the vehicle in less than five seconds and most drag racers follow this guideline as well. This means they utilize a quick release steering wheel to hasten their exit from the vehicle. Now I could be wrong because he looked a bit confused trying to replace the steering wheel, but the most common quick release system is operated at the base of the steering column and it looks like he may have grabbed the wrong thing. I posted the source so look for yourself but as far as i can tell this appears to be what happened.

because of how small the driver area is. The driver gets in, bucks in and then puts the wheel in. Its to allow them to get in nice and snug (decreases the effect of G forces) and able to steer.