When the journals are that small, A splayed crankshaft looses too much of the overlap that the two rod journals share. This would make the crank very weak. The NASCAR guys are are using a honda rod bearing in a connecting rod without an offset. In a v8, the connecting rods share a common rod journal. In the Buick stock block engines,every connecting rod has its own journal and the big end of the rod is offset from the small end.
Dave