How M1 Concourse became Metro Detroit’s #1 auto venue

Posted by Talbot Payne on January 28, 2021

Pontiac — Suddenly, M1 Concourse is the epicenter of Detroit car shows.

In 2021, Pontiac’s exclusive car club will host four of the region’s major car events, including the Detroit Auto Show’s Motor Bella and American Festival of Speed back-to-back in late September. In addition to those fall headliners, M1 will dominate summer Woodward Avenue cruising as it brackets the Aug. 21 Dream Cruise with the (tentative) Roadkill Nights and Woodward Dream Show weekend events.

The M1 Concourse Event Center and Restaurant has spectacular views of Turn 10B of Champion Motor Speedway - and a two-story restaurant.>

In so doing, Pontiac — Metro Detroit’s second city — will be the focus of the automotive community as thousands of spectators and media descend on its sprawling enthusiasts’ playground anchored by the 1.5-mile Champion Motor Speedway race track.

“I don’t see us in competition with Detroit,” M1 Concourse CEO Jordan Zlotoff said in an interview. “Obviously there’s a lot of news right now about there not being a traditional auto show event in the city, but I think there is a big future for the whole region in terms of what we can do around automotive activations.”

Automotive activations are participatory auto venues increasingly craved by automakers over static convention center shows. Zlotoff said that M1 had been in talks with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (which organizes and manages the North American International Auto Show) to complement Motor Bella before COVID concerns forced the entire event outdoors to M1 Sept. 21-26.

Cool toys. M1 Concourse CEO Jordan Zlotoff cozies up to a rare Farrari LaFerrari kept at the private track facility.>

“We offer things by having a mile and a half track and 87 acres of outdoor space that can’t be offered downtown,” Zlotoff continued. “Our whole is bigger than the sum of the parts, and there’s a lot of ways we can work together and just leverage each other’s strengths.”

Zlotoff said that becoming the region’s automotive Disneyland was part of the plan since the club broke ground in 2015 on its first phase of private garages. With 173 built, M1 is now well into Phase Four of its garage development with a planned 255, making it the biggest private garage facility in the world. Its 160 Motorsport Club members keep a variety of exotic vehicles — from snarling Mustang muscle cars to rare Ferraris — with regular access to the track for exercise.

Tom McDonald, a member of M1 since 2017, likens the facility to a golf club — but with a track at its center. Like a golf course, M1 is a magnet for public events.

“Hosting auto shows is like bringing a PGA (golf) tournament to Oakland Hills,” smiled McDonald. “It brings more attention to the facility.”

M1 Concourse garage owner Tom McDonald praised the opening of the facility's Event Center. McDonald said "M1 is a facility for car owners, car lovers, and now the general public."

It’s a twist on the usual auto club business model. Similar private club tracks like Virginia International Raceway between Richmond and Durham, North Carolina, or Autobahn south of Chicago, tend to attract racing competition. Located miles from urban centers, these tracks double as major race venues. M1’s location in the middle of an area precludes wheel-to-wheel racing lest it violate local noise ordinances.

Instead, it’s focused on testing and time trials, making it a prime spot for activation events where manufacturers can show off their wares. Zlotoff credits the facility’s attraction to auto shows to a number of factors.

Motown muscle. Dodge Hellcats and Vipers are among the machinery that drivers can learn on at M1 Concourse.>

“One is just our location in Pontiac being so close to everything in metropolitan Detroit,” he said. “If you look at where (other) tracks are located, they’re far off from city centers. Also, we’re conveniently located to all (Detroit automakers) — as well as the hotels, restaurants, and the infrastructure of the city.”

Given its proximity to automakers and their supply chain, Zlotoff said that club’s goal from day one was to be an event facility — not just a track facility — with premium dining, restrooms and driveway amenities.

“This is a world-class facility that caters to clients that are in the automotive business world,” he continued. “They can produce a sophisticated event that has the look and feel of something you could do in a very high-end hotel or equivalent facility. I think it’s the confluence of those factors that are allowing us to put on all these events.”

M1 broke ground in September on an events facility that is designed not just to cater large events, but as a dining destination and configurable event space so that manufacturers could, for example, stage vehicles for auto show-like reveals.

McDonald, an ex-communications executive for VW North America and Mazda, said M1 is perfectly suited to new car reveals. Its exposure this year will raise its profile in North America, not unlike England’s Goodwood Festival of Speed which has become a must venue for international automakers.

A group of 1970s Shadow Can Am cars do laps around M1 Concourse. The 2021 American Festival of Speed will feature similar cars on the track.>

“The experiences of Motor Bella and American Speed Festival will really solidify M1’s reputation as an experiential facility that should push growth in the future,” he said. “Auto shows are changing, and auto marketing budgets are being tailored to take advantage of events like M1 can put on.”

McDonald points to the growth of similar, sprawling outdoor venues like Goodwood, Amelia Island Concours d-Elegance in Florida, and Monterey Car Week in California as examples of what M1 could become in the future. They are events where automakers can not only unveil new products — but also show them in action.

“What better location than a race track off of Woodward Avenue in Detroit?” he said.

M1 has recently hosted small media reveals for the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and the Honda Civic Type R. Porsche and Mazda have hosted track-oriented M1 events, too. Though Roadkill Nights sponsored by Dodge was canceled last year due to COVID concerns, the 2019 event brought 50,000 spectators to M1 over two days to ogle the new Dodge Charger Daytona, take thrill rides in muscle cars, and watch Woodward drag racing.

Zlotoff acknowledged that COVID circumstances have accelerated M1’s viability as organizers look for less-risky outdoor venues.

A map of the 87-acre M1 facility shows its 1.5-mile race track, 253 garage units and planned M1 Concourse Event Center and Restaurant (at the southeast corner).>

The events will make for a crowded M1 calendar in 2021 that includes a Fourth of July fireworks show and regular Cars and Coffee collector events sandwiched around private member use. Zlotoff said the attention will benefit Pontiac, which as the center of M1’s mission statement.

M1 has been involved with the local community including the donation of a neighborhood playground, while M1’s Pontiac Motorsports Exposition arm will host charity events at the Aug. 19-21 Woodward Dream Show and Speed Festival to benefit local organizations.Get the COVID-19 Update newsletter in your inbox.

“Businesses are helping to change the nature and character of the city and its economic growth,” said Zlotoff. “We are certainly focused on helping the city. We want to see it prosper. I think M1 has been on a great trajectory, and I think it’s going to continue go upward in the next five to 10 years.”

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