More than 2000 people and 500 vehicles gathered on the Federal Highway service road at Sutton near the Eagle Hawk Hotel about 11.30pm on Friday when illegal burnouts were done on the street.

NSW police, supported by ACT police officers, attended the disturbance about 11.45pm but were jeered and abused by the crowd, then pelted with rocks and bottles.

Due to the volatility of the situation, police were forced to retreat across the Federal Highway flyover and wait for the crowd to disperse.

One NSW officer was struck by a rock and injured, and two police cars were damaged in the melee.

Social media vision taken of the Eagle Hawk incident shows police cars, with their lights flashing, stationed 400 metres away while the illegal burnouts continued undeterred.

Some of the people shown in the vision were wearing Summernats wristbrands but Mr Lopez said he had yet to see any evidence that any of the cars involved were Summernats entries.

"If an entrant car can be identified by police to us, we would definitely sanction them," he said.

"That would include prohibiting them from bringing their car to future events entering the event in the future."

He said that illegal street burnout incidents such as that at Sutton, where people are shown walking alongside a car doing a tyre-smoking burnout, put his event at risk because of the link the general public made to Summernats when they saw that behaviour.

"It makes myself and the other members of the team here really upset to see that stuff," he said.

"It puts us at risk as an event. But it's not all about us. It puts [the drivers] themselves, their passengers and the people who are standing around those cars at risk. And it puts innocent drivers who just happen to be around [at risk].

"What happens is that everyone [at Summernats] gets tarred with that brush.

"People start saying this is what Summernats brings to Canberra but it's not what Summernats brings to Canberra. It brings economic activity and a great bunch of people having a good time."

No-one at the Sutton incident was arrested nor any cars impounded, although investigations are continuing.

The acting Superintendent of Monaro Police District Neil Grey said he was extremely disappointed with the incident at Sutton.

"It is appalling how, at a time when the state's south is facing serious bushfire threat, some individuals choose to conduct themselves in such a reckless manner," he said.

"This type of behaviour is dangerous and unacceptable, and it is lucky that no one was seriously injured as a result."

On Saturday night police had set up a road block the scene of the previous evening's illegal street burnouts, determined there would not be a repeat of the incident.