Yep, that is definitely a vicegrip handle. I'm guessing that it's a field expedient repair for something and is actually clamped on to something down there by the fire extinguisher and the emergency (manual) hydraulic pump.
I remember when this photography mode came out as part of Quicktime (Quicktime VR). All kinds of cool stuff was shot panoramically. The problem was that most people had dialup internet in those days and it took half an hour to load a pic. Still very cool, though, and especially good for things that benefit from 'you are here' photos like coal mines, architectural stuff, and, of course, cool vehicles.
Nice to see that it is finally becoming popular now that bandwidth is high enough to support it.