Cedar beveled siding does not seem to be overlapped and nailed properly
The short answer is that it just isn't that critical. There will still be enough unpierced lap to provide weather resistance, and the sliver that cracks off the top edge usually doesn't result in a problem. In a rare case the wood grain angles down far enough that the crack shows, but that's not likely.
Longer answers involve the need for wood siding to have a little room to move and flex with seasonal changes, but that describes an ideal that isn't at all critical. I've owned homes sided with cedar lap for decades (some of which I installed decades ago; I'm in one now) and it has been an issue that the top edge was nailed exactly zero times.