Maybe I'm ignorant, but that doesn't make sense.
The drive shaft drives both axles in an open diff setup. It doesn't split the drive in half. The revs of the driveshaft should be altered by the gearing ratio so it should only half if the ratio says so.
If, for arguments sake, the ratio is 1:1, then if the tailshaft is rotating at 100 revs, then both axles should be rotating at 100 revs.
If in an open diff setup, the wheel in the air spins faster than when on the ground, it should only be because there is no longer the frictional retardation of the ground itself, thus reducing the load on the engine.

