Carson Hocevar drew the ire of multiple drivers on Sunday night during the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series 2025 season.

Hocevar finished in second place as a caution flag came out in the middle of the final lap. It meant the driver who was in the lead at the time of the caution was declared the winner. This time, it was Christopher Bell who won the race, with Hocevar and Kyle Larson behind him.

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However, after the race, multiple drivers were seen speaking with Hocevar. The 22-year-old’s aggressive driving did not appear to go over well with some of his colleagues.

"We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together," Hocevar said, via NASCAR.com. "So obviously, there’s learning lessons. You don’t want to p--- anybody off or frustrate anybody, and there’s things I would clean up for sure. But it’s just going to come with learning.

"Again, I’m normally 40th, waiting for them to crash and hoping they crash, and I finish in the teens. So, to be up front and get stage points in both stages and have a shot to win is something to hold my (head) high. … And I’ve always said I’m a really bad superspeedway racer, so this at least gives me a little bit more confidence."

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Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch were among those who reacted to Hocevar’s racing.

As Blaney was driving for first place, he received a bump from Hocevar on Lap 234. Blaney was sent spinning, and a caution flag came out. Blaney was able to save his car and made it back toward the front to finish in fourth place.

"I wasn’t slowing," Blaney said. "He was drafting to me, and he didn’t lift and just gave me a shot when I’m turning into [Turn] 1, and it spun me out. I was just happy I didn’t hook a right back into everybody and was able to stay on the apron."

Chastain had one of the fastest cars of the day. He declined to get into the specifics of their conversation.

Busch noted that Hocevar had a lot of "close calls" in the race.

"I mean, he wasn’t even clear on me, I had to lift, and he put me in the fence off of two in the first stage," he told NBC Sports. "So, he’s just trying to plug holes and doing it last second and last minute, and creating log jams on back. It’s just, do it at the end, you know, do it in the last 30 laps, not in the first 230."

It was Hocevar’s 45th NASCAR Cup Series race of his career and his seventh top 10 finish. It was the best finish he has had on the circuit.

He previously finished in third place at Watkins Glen last year.

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• A former Meta employee was hired in 2022 and had positive reviews for two years.
• They were shocked when they received a "low performer" rating and were laid off on February 10.
• The former employee said they're worried the label could hurt their job search and felt betrayed.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a former Meta employee who worked at the company for two and a half years. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to concerns about future employment. Business Insider has verified their identity, employment, and performance reviews at Meta. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was hired by Meta in late 2022. During my time there, I received performance evaluations every six months, in which my ratings were always 'at or above expectation' or 'consistently met expectation.' Of course, I received small tweaks and feedback that are normal in any review, but I never received any signal that I was a low performer or that I was trending downwards.

When Zuckerberg announced Meta would be laying off the lowest 5% of performers, I felt a general sense of anxiety, but I looked at the criteria they were going to apply and thought, "This doesn't apply to me. I've gotten really good ratings up to this point." I didn't consider I'd be in that bucket.

I woke up to a layoff email at 5 a.m., and by 8 a.m. I'd lost all access to chats

They sent an email at 5 a.m. PST, and by 8 a.m., we'd been locked out of our chats. I didn't get to say goodbye to my colleagues. The morning of my layoff, I felt despondent. I'd worked really, really hard to get this job, had worked long hours, and had put a lot of effort into supporting my team. I just felt this deep sense of defeat.

And then I got angry. I was livid, like transcendentally livid. I can't even really put into words how it felt. I'd lost so much — my confidence, my reputation, a substantial amount of unvested stock. I just remember being in bed, screaming into a pillow.

I felt betrayed by the company I'd worked for, and they destroyed my confidence in the process.

I have no idea how they decided I was a low performer

I haven't received any documentation explaining how they got my "low performer" rating, so I don't have any official idea of why this occurred. I didn't get a signal from my manager. I just received the rating and the termination letter stating I was being let go.

I'm so scared about how this "low-performer" label will affect my ability to find a new job.

Right now, the zeitgeist is sympathetic to those of us who've been laid off, but I know it's going to impact future employment. It's already a tough job market, so I'm scared. I'm really, really scared.

Because Meta clearly labeled people affected as "low performers," any hiring manager who looks at my end date will know. We are uniquely disadvantaged because this announcement was leaked and widely publicized.

For the first week after my layoff, I couldn't even fathom the idea of updating my résumé or looking for jobs. I felt so hopeless that I could hardly even motivate myself to get out of bed. I already struggled with imposter syndrome, and this felt like Meta threw salt in the wound. I'm going to have to rebuild my self-confidence, and that's going to take time.

I think this is going to be a moment to take a step back, recenter myself, and think about what I truly want for myself and my career. Right now, I know I value some sense of stability. I know no job is stable, but I really want my next role to be somewhere where I feel like leadership at least doesn't seem to have an openly hostile position toward its employees.

My opinion on Mark Zuckerberg has completely changed

I used to defend Mark Zuckerberg to people. I thought he was personable in company meetings and really funny. Now, I feel like that was just a facade.

Between the layoff, removing DEI initiatives, and changes around content moderation, Mark Zuckerberg seems to be testing how many decisions he can make without retribution. Because Meta is such a big player in the tech industry, I'm concerned the company is creating an environment where other employers will follow suit.

Tech used to be a place where companies took care of their employees and where we were supported, but now it feels like we're all in a meat grinder. It's really sad to see.

Meta could already be backfilling these roles

Meta laid off thousands of employees and said they were going to start filling many of those roles with new people.

I joined at a time when Meta's stock was lower, and like many of my coworkers, a portion of my compensation is tied to the value of the company's stock. I have questioned whether the "low performance" label was a way to let expensive employees go.

I'm worried about speaking out for fear of retribution. I hope people are empathetic toward those impacted by layoffs six months or a year down the road.

Nobody knows how long we'll be looking for a new job. I've heard horror stories of people applying to hundreds of jobs for over a year. I don't think that's going to be my position, but it indicates how hard the market is right now.

I had a call with my dad the other day and told him I just don't know what to hope for right now. The rug was pulled out from under me. I don't know how to move forward from that.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

Apple has said it plans to hire about 20,000 people over the next four years as part of a $500 billion US investment commitment.

The package will cover initiatives focusing on AI, skills development, and manufacturing, the tech giant said Monday.

"We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," said Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, in a statement. "From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund, to building advanced technology in Texas, we're thrilled to expand our support for American manufacturing."

This story is breaking. Check back for updates.

A technicality had previously given the impression that Apple approved of a porn app being made available to iPhone users in the EU via a third-party app store.

That lead to some misleading headlines, but Apple has now solved the problem by changing three words in the email sent to developers …

New York's law requiring Internet service providers to offer broadband for $15 or $20 a month has spurred legislative efforts in other states to guarantee affordable service for people with low incomes. So far, legislators in Vermont, Massachusetts, and California have proposed laws inspired by the New York requirement.

Christopher Morrow, a newly elected Democratic state legislator in Vermont, introduced a bill on January 29 that is modeled on New York's law. "Affordability is a big issue in Vermont and there are many stories of children who couldn't study properly during COVID for lack of Internet," Morrow told Ars. "It exposed the digital divide. This is a small gesture to help folks out."

Despite industry attempts to block the New York law and other broadband regulations, courts have made it clear that states can impose stricter requirements on Internet service when the Federal Communications Commission isn't regulating Internet providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. That's the situation right now after a federal appeals court blocked a Biden-era FCC order that classified ISPs as common carriers and imposed net neutrality rules.

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