Baseball Legend Ken Griffey, Jr. Connects with CARS Tour Photographer
It was the last weekend in April, and motorsports photographer Matt Marrie was snapping pictures during the zMAX CARS Tour race weekend at Orange County Speedway, when he saw a brand-new face stationed around the 0.375-miel short track taking photos.
Marrie, a photographer for CARS Tour team Nelson Motorsports, introduced himself and engaged in a conversation with the newcomer, who shared that it was his first time taking photos at a racetrack. After providing him with some pointers and talking more about motorsports photography, the two parted ways for the afternoon.
The next day, the pair met again and looked at each other’s photos from the weekend, and before parting ways, exchanged Instagram handles. Unbeknownst to Marrie, the person he had talked to all weekend long was named Tevin… Tevin Griffey, son of Major League Baseball (MLB) legend Ken Griffey, Jr.
“I had no idea,” Marrie told Racing America on SI. “I work for Nelson Motorsports in the CARS Tour as a photographer, so I meet a lot of different photographers at every track that I go to. So, I’m always meeting people, and I like to introduce myself and just see what kind of pictures they take. So, I literally had no idea who I was talking to.”
Marrie would find out exactly who Tevin was about a week later, when Ken Griffey, Jr. sent him a direct message (DM) on Instagram to thank him for helping his son, which read: “Just want to say THANK YOU!!!! For helping out Tevin last week.”
Last week at Orange County for the CARS Tour race, I was shooting in turn 1 and noticed a gentleman taking pictures so I...
Posted by iCreate Photography on Sunday, May 4, 2025
The Virginia-native was shocked to see the message pop-up, and remained flabbergasted, as Griffey was one of the baseball players that he grew up watching on television as a kid, alongside Sammy Sosa, Martin McGuire. Marrie was even watching when Barry Bonds broke the record for career home runs in August 2007.
“[It’s] humbling,” said Marrie. “It just makes me appreciate that my mom did a very good job of teaching me how to be nice to people and treat everybody the same. So, it’s pretty cool. It’s eye-opening that the world can be so small sometimes.”
After retiring from Major Leage Baseball in the early 2010s, Griffey, Jr. has spent the last decade working as a sports photographer – and has been credentialed to shoot events in the MLB, MLS, NFL, and the NTT IndyCar Series, as well as the 2025 Masters Tournament. His son, Tevin, has begun to follow in his footsteps, but shooting with the zMAX CARS Tour.
So, did Marrie respond to Griffey, Jr’s message?
“Oh, of course,” Marrie chuckled. “I told him his son was really nice, and I was honored to be able to help him.” The experience in itself is something that nobody could have ever predicted, where working a CARS Tour event in Orange County, North Carolina, would result in a line of communication with an baseball Hall of Famer.
“Never even thought of that [being a possibility]. I go into every weekend just trying to enjoy it and get as many pictures as I can to make people happy.”
The zMAX CARS Tour is a Late Model division located in the Southeast, which is owned and operated by prominent NASCAR figures Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Marks. So, from one hall of famer to another, maybe Ken Griffey, Jr. might want to check out a CARS Tour event?
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Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.