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

I had a souped up 440 with a HVpump and stock oilpan fullthrottle at 6500rpm for 1-2 minutes straight a few times, but oilpressure stayed stable all the time, so 'in my case' the pan was not sucked 'dry'.

During a dragrace I could see the oil having a hard time getting down to the oilpickup in the center of the pan again when you're constantly accelerating and oil is forced to the rear of the engine first.