RPW Exclusive: “Behind The Mic” w/ Toby LaGrange; Remembering Bobby…One Year Later
RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Toby LaGrange / RPW – MALTA, NY – Every so often a day, a week or a time period comes around that makes you sit and reflect on days gone by. The mood that it brings can fluctuate however the most important part is reflecting on this time and remembering what was.
As the calendar switches to middle of July, such a time has come for those of us at Race Pro Weekly.
With all due respect to the big events that will be happening here in the Capital District this week and weekend, these days are for Bobby.
Amidst the Empire Super Sprints visits to the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and Fonda Speedway this weekend, the Hillman Memorial and IVRA Vintage event at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park on Sunday, the STSS event at Fonda and the Eve of Destruction at the Lebanon Valley Speedway during the week, sits the one year anniversary of the passing of the founder, main contributor, editor and pretty much any other title that you can think of for Race Pro Weekly – Bobby Chalmers.
The racing world, the Race Pro Weekly family and most importantly his family said goodbye to Bobby on July 17th, 2025. Bobby left us way too soon at the age of 46 following a brave battle with the ugly “C” word – cancer.
I took a couple of days off this week to attend Baseball Camp with my son and while sitting there in the intense heat and sunshine watching him do his best to learn our nations pastime, I began to think about Bobby.
Why then, I will never know. Maybe I was thinking too much or maybe the bright sunshine that was giving me a sunburn on my bald head was getting to me…regardless, I began to reminisce about days gone by and about the second half of the 2025 racing season (following his death).
If I had a record button on the thoughts, good times, learning times and bad times that went through my head, I could have wrote a pretty entertaining book. I didn’t though, I had only my memories…not even a notepad and pencil.
I thought about the first time I remember meeting Bobby back in the early days of Race Pro Weekly and about the chances he gave this big mouth, Fonda Speedway born and raised kid from Bleecker Mountain early on when no one else would.
Make no mistake, back then he was the adult and I was the kid, even though we were the same age. Those early interactions taught me a lot, even if they didn’t sink in for a few years.
He was energetic, fair and determined and was always looking for the next thing for Race Pro Weekly and his staff, a trait that should be taught everywhere. He was always there to help, even to those who once were with Race Pro Weekly and then went elsewhere. In my 25 years of being on the motorsport’s media side of things, I have never seen anyone work harder week in and week out.
When October of last season rolled around and it was time to make the pilgrimage to the shores of Lake Ontario and the Oswego Speedway, it seemed surreal. Sitting in the Media Tent at the RPW table and not having him there was like getting kicked in the gut and as my almost ten-year-old would say, “Man Zone”, simultaneously.
About a month before he passed away, he sent me a text message stating simple, “Tob, I don’t think that I am going to be able to make it to Oswego…I need you to run the video side of things”.
My response was full of blissful ignorance and some optimism…” We will get you there Bobby, even if I have to come to Massachusetts and pick you up.”
Then, after some time with no response, I realized what he was saying.
I quickly told him not to worry; I will take care of it.
He responded with a thumbs up, a smile and a simple “Thank you buddy”.
Like the big events this week, all of us at Race Pro Weekly will continue on. The more I think about it, maybe that bright, tan creating sunshine at the ball park was not so much a coincidence but Bobby looking down telling us all that he will always be watching.
God bless BC.
