Smart Tempo "garbling" audio when using "apply project tempo to region and downbeat"

I'm trying to import audio and use Smart Tempo to set the project tempo to the imported audio's tempo.

About 2 time out of 5 this will result in a segment of the imported file having what sounds like a "speed up / slow down". From there I can never get the audio to line up again.

This happens randomly, but regardless of what file type I'm importing.

The process:

1) Import audio file (typically .wav or .mp3) by dragging it into a track on the Arrange page of a new project

2) Run Smart Tempo on file

3) Change "Tempo" from Variable to "Constant"

4) Apply "apply project tempo to region and downbeat"

At this point there will be a small segment (about a measure or two) where the audio speeds up, slows down and appears to loose sync.

Thanks!

LPX 11.1.2

OSX 15.4.1