I pretty much agree with all your conclusions on this one, especially F1 and Hang On. I personally think it helps for Nascar 98 and Andretti racing as well. I tried it with Crimewave also and it takes some getting used to but I liked it.
Probably because you need to press up to accelerate in Sonic R. If this wasn't the case, I'm sure it would work as most 3D Pad-compatible games will work with the wheel and vice-versa.