I talk to a current Pro Stock engine builder a few times a year and we have talked about this and his sentiment I have heard echoed many times in high end drad racing engines. He said "we decide a bore and stroke to achieve 500 or less inches, we then design the piston we want in the engineand then use a rod that connects the two. The rod ratio is not a consideration"
He is oversimplifying it a bit since they can play with deck height. If they really wanted a specific rod ratio they could change the deck height. From what I've seen, they let the intake manifold design and cylinder head design dictate the deck height and then the rod ratio ends up being what it is. That is, rod ratio is very low on their priority list.
