Although the Oklahoma City Council denied a proposal earlier this week to provide city funds to stage an American Le Mans street race in 2011, another proposal for a racing event with private funds is still under development.

Following the no vote Tuesday night by the council on a proposed letter of intent with OKC Grand Prix LLC, an alternative group – OKC Motorsports – announced it also was working to put together a race event in the city.

"I just want people around here to know the potential of racing is not dead because of the action that was taken earlier today," OKC Motorsports CEO Mike McAuliffe told The Oklahoman.

McAuliffe said his group had an agreement with a sanctioning body and an event sponsor, as well as private investors in place, but he declined to offer specifics.

The Oklahoma race had been tipped to join the recently announced Baltimore street race on the ALMS schedule next season, but the City Council's decision not to fund the event threw a wrench into that plan, which called for the use of $6.9m in city funds to build the downtown street course. Council members voted 6-2 against the proposal, with the majority saying it would be an inappropriate use of public funds in the current economic climate. After the vote, OKC Grand Prix LLC indicated it likely would not pursue the venture further.