Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan was 13th after starting 19th in the 25-car field.
Kanaan was a sentimental favorite after several near-misses in his 11 previous Indy 500s.
"I got a little bit of luck today, " Kanaan said in a post-race interview.
In the rival Indy Racing League, Brazilian Tony Kanaan won the AJ Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile.
South African Tomas Scheckter, son of 1979 Formula One champion Jody Scheckter, and Brazil's Tony Kanaan both crashed while leading.
For 20 years until 2002, Mr Kanaan virtually ruled Lebanon in his capacity as Syria's proconsul in the neighbouring state.
Kanaan's victory ended the domination of Team Penske and Ganassi Racing and gave Andretti Green their first win of the season.
The race featured a record 14 leaders and 68 lead changes, with Kanaan making the last one between the two caution flags.
Even if the UN sleuths' trail of clues stops at the door of Mr Kanaan, that may not get Mr Assad off the hook.
Getting a hoarder to stop is a complicated matter, says Debbie Kanaan, who oversees the animal cruelty division of the Los Angeles district attorney's office.
Tony Kanaan was third, followed by Michel Jourdain and Patrick Carpentier.
More damaging yet, the UN's investigation into Hariri's murder fingered the Lebanese security chiefs that Mr Kanaan had put in place, several of whom were arrested.
Bowing to intense diplomatic pressure, Mr Assad let him question senior intelligence officials, including Mr Kanaan and his successor in Lebanon until the Syrian withdrawal, Rustum Ghazale.
No driver is allowed to pass another car while the caution flag is posted, so at that point, to win, all Kanaan needed to do was finish without crashing.
Brought back to Damascus as head of the Political Security Directorate three years ago, before becoming interior minister in October 2004, Mr Kanaan was a pillar of the regime.
In the radio interview he gave minutes before his death, Mr Kanaan denied rumours reported in Lebanese media that he had handed the UN investigators extensive files on corruption in Lebanon during his tenure and had shown them photocopies of cheques he had received from Hariri.
应用推荐