Dale Jr. reveals why he's not ready to pop the question

Making a special appearance Wednesday on the "Dan Patrick Show" during his designated "Road to the Daytona 500" media blitz, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked when he might pop the question to Amy Reimann, his girlfriend of more than three years.

Reimann is often seen with Junior, 40, at the track on race weekends, and the couple shares a residence, but -- so far at least -- there has been no indication of an imminent proposal.

Asked by Patrick if he was "engaged yet," the third-generation driver replied: "Not yet. Me and Amy are doing great, though, and we're heading in the right direction."

Pressed on what that meant exactly, Earnhardt Jr. continued to play coy.

"If I want to get engaged, I don't want to spoil the surprise on Dan Patrick's radio show," he said.

"It's not the time," Earnhardt Jr. added, after Patrick joked that asking for Amy's hand in marriage on the air might be a good way to surprise her. "The timing's not right."

Earnhardt Jr. did rule out the possiblity of any kind of NASCAR-themed proposal.

"No, absolutely not," he said with a laugh. Patrick then suggested that Earnhardt Jr. get a tattoo of his girlfriend's name on his ring finger.

"No," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Me and her have talked about that. That's definitely, definitely not happening."

Then Junior added this little gem.

"I have a phobia that nobody knows about," he said. "I have a jewelry phobia. I know it sounds crazy, but that's been the biggest holdup for me getting engaged or getting married."

Patrick then quipped that Junior's real holdup is a "marriage phobia."

Whatever his reasons are for not popping the question just yet, NASCAR's most popular driver doesn't sound opposed to the idea.