Do I need a hardened intermediate shaft for a HV oil pump?

First off lets think about this logically. High Volume dose not mean high pressure. If the engine dose not need the volume the relief valve dumps the excess right back in the pan. If the bearing clearances are big where dose the extra oil go.. right back in the pan. The only time you would suck the pan dry is if you were restricting the drain back from the heads.... Next again a high volume pump dose not put any more strain on the pump drive than a standard pump so it will not break a drive any faster than a standard pump. If you install a high pressure spring or in some way stop the relief vavle from doing its job then you are putting more strain on the pump drive.
So you figure it out for your situation. Me I use HV pumps on all my rebuilds just because I will know I'm getting plenty of oil to all areas and I don't go out of my way to put the hardend drive in unless I have it handy.
PS I have never had a drive fail in 35 years of oval track racing..my engines see 7k every lap.